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....
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...
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
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,...
Due to Storm Ellen, 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 from 6pm this evening (Wednesday, 19th August 2020) to 9am on Friday, the 21st August 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/
After a false start earlier in the week, we are delighted to announce that the Visitor Centre in Ballycroy will be re-opening tomorrow July 9th at 12 noon. As we are adhering to COVID19 protocols, things will be a little different in the Visitor Centre. We will be operating a one way system throughout the building and this includes the exhibition, toilets and cafe. You will still receive the same friendly welcome. Please bear with us and we'd appreciate if...
In line with the Government’s COVID19 restrictions, the grounds of the National Park remain open to visitors in Co. Mayo or within 20km, which ever distance is greater. The Ballycroy Visitor Centre still remains CLOSED including the cafe and toilets. All car parks have re-opened today, June 8th. We would like to inform visitors that there is a one way system for walking the trails, which must be followed for physical distancing purposes. See maps below. You are very welcome...
As we come to the end of May we would like to share with you some folklore that surrounds a tree with strong connections with this month. The Hawthorn is also know as the May Tree or May Bush, and as a child I recall being told not to go near a certain tree grew near my house. At the time I didn't question the instruction, but now I know why... Click here to download a pdf of this poster.
Happy International Day for Biological Diversity 2020! All week we have featured species from the National Park for #BiodiversityWeek on our social media pages (Facebook & Twitter). Today we are featuring some of the habitats from around the Visitor Centre in Ballycroy. The grounds of the Visitor Centre are managed for biodiversity and the habitats that feature today are common, but are becoming increasingly under threat, along with the species that rely on them. Please take a...
Did you know that it's Hedgehog Awareness Week? A few weeks ago we were celebrating hedgehogs here in Mayo with the release of hedgehogs in Enniscoe Walled Garden at the North Mayo Heritage Centre. In April 2020, two young hedgehogs were released in Enniscoe’s walled garden. These hedgehogs were siblings, rescued from a garden during winter time and rehabilitated by Noeline Haylett – a wildlife rehabilitator based in Westport. When found, the duo were underweight, cold and wet. They received...
