We wish to advise visitors that Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park will be closed on Sunday February 14th due to Met Éireann's Status Orange Wind Warning. This includes the Visitor Centre, Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail and Letterkeen. Other NPWS sites in the region will also be closed, including: Connemara National Park Derryclare Nature Reserve Old Head Nature Reserve Knockma Wood, near Tuam, Co. Galway Laughil Wood, near Pontoon, Co. Mayo For more information on weather warnings please see: https://www.wildnephinnationalpark.ie/plan-your-visit/weather-warnings/

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We would like to advise our visitors that the Tóchar Daithí Bán Trail at the Visitor Centre will be undergoing essential maintenance over the next couple days. Therefore the trail will not be accessible. We ask visitors to please heed safety notices during this time. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

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We are delighted to announce a new 4-year PhD opportunity for Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park. The PhD will explore biodiversity conservation and restoration in the National Park and will be carried out with support of the Marine Institute and funded under the Marine Research Programme 2014-2020 by the Irish Government. The proposed objectives of the PhD are to: • Assess baseline terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna within the National Park against which future restoration actions can be measured...

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This evening the alignment of the planets Jupiter and Saturn will be visible in our evening skies, known as the ‘Great’ conjunction . A conjunction occurs when planets appear very close to one another in the sky. Although the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn happens every 20 years or so, on this particular occasion it will mark the closest encounter of these planets in nearly 400 years. If clear skies allow on this Monday evening you can see this spectacle...

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Due to Storm Aiden, please note that Wild Nephin National Park/Mayo Dark Sky Park, including all trails (i.e. Letterkeen Loops & Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail) & the Ballycroy Visitor Centre will be closed on Saturday 31/10/2020.   For storm updates see: https://www.met.ie/warnings/   For more information on Weather Warnings and Wild Nephin National Park see: https://www.wildnephinnationalpark.ie/plan-your-visit/weather-warnings/

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Each year on the 31st of October we celebrate Hallowe’en. The festival of Hallowe’en has very close links with Ireland that dates back thousands of years. In ancient times Hallowe’en was known as Samhain. The ancient Festival of Samhain was a celebration of the end of summer and harvest and also the beginning of winter. The ancient Irish saw this time of the year as the end of old year and beginning of the New Year just like their harvest....

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Art Commission The Office of Public Works (OPW), National Park & Wildlife Services and Mayo County Council’s Arts Service are delighted to announce that the visual artist Susan Mannion has been selected for the public art commission at the Ballycroy Visitor Centre at Wild Nephin National Park. The Artist Susan is a talented visual artist based in Boyle, who specialises in copper enamel work, a technique that has been used since the 13th century BC; and print making. Artwork The...

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As part of the Government's response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and in line with Level 3  guidelines the Visitor Centre (including the Cafe & Toilets) will be closed from October 7th 2020. The trails in the National Park remain open and we ask visitors to follow the one-way systems in place - information on one way systems are highlighted below: Tochár Daithí Bán at the Ballycroy Visitor Centre Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail Letterkeen Loop Walks

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The Bangor Trail traverses National Park lands skirting the foot of the Nephin Beg Mountains. This ancient route twists and winds between the mountains and bogs, from Bangor southwards to Newport. Stretching 40km, once a route used by herders to bring livestock to market. Trekking southwards from Bangor the route brings you into what is arguably the most remote part of Ireland. The low lying route can lead the unwitting venturer into the false belief of a relatively easy hike,...

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