People who love Harristown Common 'will help defend it'

Members of the TMH Biodiversity & Heritage Group and guests at this morning's walk.

If people who don’t know Harristown Common are introduced to it, “they will help you defend it”, members of the Two Mile House Biodiversity and Heritage Group were advised this morning, writes Brian Byrne.

On a tour of what was described as ‘one of the most important places in the area’ from an environmental point of view, participants heard details of the 182-acre fen’s very wide range of flora, animal and insect life, and the story of how it has been used over hundreds of years. Setting the scene for the event, the Group’s chairperson Kathy Merrins said the Common is a ‘unique biodiversity habitat’ that needs to be protected at a time when farmland is being over-sprayed and over-fertilised.

Local resident and scientist Anne Cawley described how the fen had developed following the end of the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago, in the process developing an alkaline fen peat in which grow plants that don’t occur in other kinds of landscape. “These include the marsh lousewort, the insectivorous common butterwort, and the ragged robin which is increasingly scarce,” she noted, “and of course, the orchids.”

Among the insects that use the Common for breeding and forage are dragonflies and damselflies, and of four species of butterflies found there, one is on the Red List in terms of threat of extinction. Amphibians in the fen include frogs and newts, while the bird life encompasses lapwings, barn owls, meadow pipit, kestrel, yellowhammer and skylark. “And, for the first time, this year I heard woodcock,” Ms Cawley reported.

In the mammal world, the Common is home to sika deer, foxes, badgers, and the increasingly rare Irish hare, as well as a variety of bats. “It’s a very rare and special place in terms of biodiversity, as well as a place where you can stop to catch your breath,” Anne Cawley noted. “On a summer’s morning with a white mist on top, or a winter’s night, it is beautiful. It behoves us all to protect sites like this, for ourselves, for the flora and fauna that exist there, and also for the future.”

Local historian John O’Brien spoke briefly about the historical aspect of the Common, from the time it was originally part of the Eustace family’s vast land-holdings through to the 19th century when neighbouring farmers acquired grazing rights on it from the Harristown Estate, which are still in use today.

Fr Jackie O’Connell, recognised as one of the country’s foremost experts on wild orchids, detailed some of the varieties which are part of the Common’s flora. Green Party Senator Vincent Martin, who lives in the area, described the Common as ‘a hidden jewel on our doorstep’ and noted that on a recent walk through it with a member of Birdwatch Ireland, ‘we saw five Red Listed birds within ten minutes’. “This place was a lifeline to local people during Covid," he added, "and we are very lucky to have it.”

Kildare Heritage Officer Bridget Loughlin, who attended the event with the new County Kildare Biodiversity Officer Méabh Boylan, noted that there’s a data base of wetlands listed in the County Development Plan that offers a ‘light’ protection, which means that they have to be considered in relation to any planning applications that might affect them. She suggested that Harristown Common has the potential to be a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), or at least a Natural Heritage Area (NHA). “But designation only works if the law is enforced, and if people are monitoring an area to make sure it is enforced,” she said, and encouraged the Group to bring knowledge of the Common to a wider audience. “All of you here are already committed, but you need to explain the Common to more people and why it is important and significant.” 

The Group have recently published their first brochure, a Heritage Trail through the area. Bridget Loughlin suggested that they consider producing ‘an old-fashioned booklet’ that would bring together all the knowledge of the Common currently held by individuals from ‘the flora people, the birds people, the biodiversity interests’. Another suggestion was a ‘walking guide’ that people could download to their phones for reference while walking the area. And a ‘low-key’ information signage located at some well-used place just outside the area would also be helpful.

“These kind of things raise awareness in the community, so that more people would know about it when designation comes,” the Heritage Officer concluded. “It’s hard for people to stand up for something they don’t understand, but they will stand up for something they love. So bring more people along, get them to love it, and then they will help you defend it.”

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