DOCSLIB.ORG

ORIGINAL LILEAIN 1913-21 BURO STAIRE 1,178 No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ORIGINAL LILEAIN 1913-21 BURO STAIRE 1,178 No HISTORY1913-21 BUREANOFMILITARY ORIGINAL LILEAIN 1913-21 BURO STAIRE 1,178 No. W.S. ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21. STATEMENT BY WITNESS DOCUMENT No. W.S. 1,117 Witness Andrew Keaveney, ex N.T., 71 stiles Road, Clontarf, Dublin. Identity. Intelligence Officer Loughlynn Coy. I.R.A. south Roscommon Brigade. Subject. I.R.B. and Irish Volunteers, south Roscommon, 1915-1921. Conditions, if any, Stipulated by Witness. Nil File No. S.2460 -, FormB.S.M.2 ORUGINAL STATEMENT OF MR. ANDREW KEAVNEY, N.T. (retired), 71, Stiles Road, Clontarf, Dublin. I joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in March 1915. Mr. M. Brennan of Roscommon invited me to become a member when a local circle was being formed in the area at the time; Seán McDermott one of the executed leaders; of the insurrection was organising the I.R.B; throughout the country. In the summer of that year I. met Dermot Lynch at a football match in Carrick-on-Shannon and he authorised me to tour North Roscommon and take selected men into the Brotherhood. He impressed on ma the objects of the organisation and the type of men who were to be taken in. In those days and of necessity the organisation, which was very secret, had to be ultra selective in the type of men it took into its ranks. The rising in 1916 came upon us and found us in a completely unprepared state of action. There were no arms amongst our members; except some few small arms and. no concrete military organisation. This, coupled with the confusion, brought about by orders and countermanding orders and finally no orders;, all left us; in a state of bewilderment, with the result that was and the was over in nothing attempted rising Dublin before we could think logically and make an estimation of the situation. r have no doubt that had things as planned. taken their normal course and arms been available, the I.R.B. members from Roscommon would have mobilised with the rest of the country and given a good account of themselves. After the rising in 1916, all I.R.B. activities in the area ceased for the time being. Sometime in 1917 I met Mick Staines in Mountbellew in Galway County and he told then not to swear in any more men into the I.R.B. but to keep the organiation going with the members we already had and to get all our old members active and interested again. As well as taking the SUREPSUOFMILITARYHISTORY1913-21 BUROSTAIREMILEATA1913-21 NO. W.S. 1,178 2. IRE oath, each man had to fill in a card the details of which I do not remember now, but on which each member undertook to he faithful to the objects of the organisation. Some of our members were arrested and interned after the Rising. I was not. A company of the Irish Volunteers was started in Loughglinn in early 1918 at the time of the conscription threat. I was irtstrumental in getting them started. I called a public meeting and spoke to them and a big number of men joined but, when the conscription threat died down, only about one-tenth remained on and the strength of the company fell to about 25 or 26. During the conscription crisis we constructed several dugouts to accommodate our men should the thing come to a head. We also made an amount of bandages and first aid dressings and a census of food supplies in the area. We had but we had listed owners or of shotguns no arms, the holders all shotgunsand supplies of cartridges which could be had within a few hours. The first captain of Loughglinn company was Pat Glynn, a very fine type of intelligent young Irishman, and the 1st Lieutenant was Martin Ganley. I was just an ordinary ranker. Pat Glynn later became battalion commander. He was killed in 1920. There was a battalion organisation in existence in Castlerea at this time. Dan O'Rourke was the Battalion 0/C. The companies comprising the battalion were:- Lissliddy, Moore, Ballingar, Loughglinn, Ballina, Treen and Gortagarriney Arms did not exist except for a few revolvers, but there was a good number of shotguns in the area which could be got at short notice. This was the Springtime of 1918. About this time also the South Roscommon Brigade was organised. Jack Brennan was the first brigade commander. 3. There was a general election in 1918. In North Roscommon where I lived, there was no election as Count Plunkett was returned unopposed. Castlerea, for election purposes, was in South Roscommon, and there the contest was very hot. Loughglinn where I lived is about five miles from Castlerea. After the first Dail met and took over the Volunteers as the army of the Republic, all our members were required to subscribe to an oath of allegiance to the Republic and the Dail as the elected government of such. All our 25 or 26 members took this oath without fail and we were then the I.R.A. The training of the company was done mostly by the company captain. Ernie O'Malley had been to the area and had put all the officers through an intensive course, so they were well qualified to train the company. When the Dáil loan was started, the local company with two or three others, older people who were good Sinn Feiners, organised it in the area. I was treasurer. Not a single individual refused to subscribe to the Loan, but quite a few had not got the money to subscribe. As well as I can remember, we collected something between £250 and £2r70. The company captain, Pat Glynn, and I delivered that money with the list of subscribers, to Dan O'Rourke and he conveyed it to Michael Collins in Dublin. It was safely delivered I know, because afterwards when it was about to be paid back, I wrote to Headquarters asking if there was a list there. and I was informed there was. Subsequently every subscriber got his money returned to him. Training parades and meetings of the company were always held in secret at this time and at different venues. In the early part 'of 1920, Ballinagar and Castleplunkett R.I.C. Barracks were evacuated by the R.I.C. and the garrisons transferred to other areas. Both barracks were burned by cur men on Easter Saturday night 1920. This was a country-wide operation the burning of vacated barracks. 4. Loughglinn Barracks was evacuated later on in the summer of 1920. For some time after the R.I.C. had left, it was - occupied by a party of the 9th lancers a cavalry regiment of the British army. When the lancers left it, it was also destroyed by burning. Ballinlough Barracks was burned on the night of 13/14th of September 1920. On that day, 13th September, Pat Glynn, who lived near me, got a dispatch most of his dispatches came through me, but not this particular one that the barracks in Ballinlough was being evacuated. He sent word to the Volunteers there to watch the place and that he would go and burn it that night. I saw him that night going off on this job as I was on my way to attend a meeting to appoint parish magistrates for the Sinn Fein Courts. I met him on the road and he told me where he was going. I just said to him: "Be careful". He and his party of Volunteers had just set fire to the barracks when a party of British military, who were hiding not far away from the barracks, fired a volley and Glynn was shot dead. Two other Volunteers, Michael Glavey and Michael Kane, were also killed. The barracks was successfully burned and the remainder of the Volunteers got safely away. When the general raid for arms was ordered by G.H.Q., and as a step to forestall an operation for the same purpose by the British military and R.I.C., there was no great excitement in our area, as the people handed over their guns to us on request. There were no shooting incidents whatsoever in the area. We got no rifles or service weapons, only shotguns and cartridges and a few pairs of field glasses. The Sinn Fein Courts were operated successfully in the area with the result that the British Courts died out completely. There were a few cases of assault and a couple of big eases which might have gone to the higher Courts. 5. under the British but which were settled locally. The attitude of the people to the Courts was very good. They took to them and abided by their decisions. Local men were the judges in the Sinn Féin Courts. One was Michael Frayne, he was the Chairman. The others were William Madden and Michael Freeman. Frayne and Madden were farmers and Freeman was a blacksmith and small farmer. Solicitors or Barristers did not attend at our Sinn Fein Courts until after the Truce. There were a few Protestant families in the area and they, where necessary, made use of the Sinn Fein Courts instead of the British ones. The R.I.C. went around as usual trying to collect fines for dog licences and suchlike, but could only do so by the threat of using arms. We had no reason to set up places of detention or "unknown destinations" in the area. Raiding by British military and R.I.C., which was spasmodic up to now, began in earnest in 1920 in our area.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ballaghaderreen and the Mayo-Roscommon Boundary
    ..;.. BALLAGHADERREEN AND THE MAYO-ROSCOMMON BOUNDARY h Map Location of Ballaa:haderreen: In 1824 the British Parliament authorised a survey of the whole island of Ireland, at a scale of six inches to one mile. This undertaking was entrusted to the military Board of Ordnance, and the survey became known as the Ordnance Survey. The beautiful 6" maps, produced as a ,result of the survey, were published over the years 1833 to 1846. The maps for County Roscommon appeared in 1837; those for County Mayo in 1838. If one wishes to find the map of the Ballaghaderreen area in that first Ordnance Survey, one turns to Mayo, sheet 74. After the first survey, the Ordnance Survey - as the surveying body became known - continued the work of mapping the country. It produced maps at different scales, and it published revisions of earlier maps. A major revision of the original 6" maps took place in the early years of this century. If one wishes to find the map of Ballaghaderreen area in this edition, one must now tum to Roscommon, sheet 8. Clearly by that time Ballaghaderreen had moved to County Roscommon. The Ordnance Survey does not, of course, decide the county boundaries. It simply follows the boundaries laid down by the bodies, who organise local government in the country. These bodies, sometime near the end of the last century, decided that the boundary between Counties Mayo and Roscommon should be re-drawn, so as to bring the Ballaghaderreen area from Mayo into Roscommon. Since the boundary was over three hundred years old at that time, it seems of interest to ask who made the change, and why they made it.
    [Show full text]
  • Mary O'flanagan
    Hidden gems and Forgotten People COUNTY ROSCOMMON ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Mary O’Flanagan Early in the 1940s Castlerea and its surrounding areas were still without any post- primary educational facilities. It is recognised that, at that time secondary education was still reserved for the privileged few. However, Mary O’Flanagan, who was joined by her sister Bea, was to change all that. A native of Cloonfower, Castlerea, Mary O’Flanagan was educated at Cloonbonniffe NS and later at the Dominican Convent, Eccles Street, Dublin. She went on to attend University College Galway where she obtained a BA a B.Com, her H. Dip and an MA. She taught for a short time in Navan, Tubbercurry and in France before returning to Castlerea to set up the first co-educational school in the town, a system of education that was very controversial at the time. On September 4th, 1940 Mean Scoil Iosef Naofa was founded at St. Patrick Street. It opened with 13 students, but by the end of the year the number had increased to 26. Mary O’Flanagan later purchased a building further down Patrick Street which was to become the school’s permanent home until free education was introduced in 1968 and then the numbers doubled. Mary O’Flanagan remained principal until her retirement in 1979. In 1983 it amalgamated with the Vocational School, which subsequently amalgamated with the Convent Secondary School in 1993 to form Castlerea Community School. Past pupils tell many stories of Mary O’s exploits – and she will go down in the history books as the woman who patrolled the streets to make sure that none of her students were out after 5 pm.
    [Show full text]
  • The Subjection of Connaught
    The Subjection of Connaught The O’Conors of Connaught an Historical Memoir, compiled from a MS of The Late John O’Donovan, LL.D. with additions From the State Papers and Public Records By the Rt. Hon. Charles Owen O’Conor Don (1891) A.D. 1476-1503. Owen (Caech) “ O’Conor Don,” Son of Felim Geancach. A.D. 1474-1485. BETWEEN the death of Felim O’Conor in 1474, and the death of his son Owen in 1485, little reference is made to the latter in any of the public records of the period, from which we may safely conclude that he was more peacefully inclined than some of his predecessors. He did not immediately succeed to the chieftaincy after his father’s death, as he was in captivity at that time, and, as mentioned above, the O’Conor Don sept was for a short period represented by a certain Teige O’Conor. This Teige was killed in 1476, when Owen, surnamed Caech, or the short-sighted, assumed the chieftaincy. He married Dervorgilla, [1] the daughter of Felim Finn, O’Conor Roe, and ac- cordingly we find him and Felim Finn close allies in all the family conflicts which sub- sequently arose. These conflicts were varied by attacks made by O’Donnell upon O’Conor Sligo and the English, and for several successive years little is recorded in the Irish chron- icles save the exploits of O’Donnell. In 1478 the annalists record that disputes arose “ between Felim Finn and O’Conor Don on the one side, and the young sons of Teige O’Conor, the descendants of Felim, and the sons of O’Conor Roe on the other,” and Turlough Roe, the son of Roderic, the son of Felim, “ a choice son of a king, was slain.” At this period the English influence in Connaught was very slight.
    [Show full text]
  • Roscommon Swift Survey 2020
    Roscommon Swift Survey 2020 A report by John Meade and Ricky Whelan A project funded by Roscommon County Council and the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht Contents 1 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 6 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 3 Project Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 10 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10 5 Data Collection .............................................................................................................................. 12 6 Citizen Science .............................................................................................................................. 12 7 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 13 7.1 Survey Visits .......................................................................................................................... 14 7.2 Swift Nests ............................................................................................................................ 16 8 Site Based Results ........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Please Click Here to Read the Project Repor
    Counties Longford & Roscommon Wetland Study Wetland Surveys Ireland 2017 _______________________________________________________________ Authors: Foss, P.J., Crushell, P. & Gallagher, M.C. (2017) Title: Counties Longford & Roscommon Wetland Study. Report prepared for Lonford and Roscommon County Councils. An Action of the County Longford Draft Heritage Plan 2015-2020 & the County Roscommon Heritage Plan 2012-2016 Copyright Longford & Roscommon County Councils 2017 Wetland Surveys Ireland Dr Peter Foss Dr Patrick Crushell 33 Bancroft Park Bell Height Tallaght Kenmare Dublin 24 Co Kerry [email protected] [email protected] All rights reserved. No Part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of Longford & Roscommon County Councils. Views contained in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of Longford & Roscommon County Councils. Photographic Plate Credits All photographs by Peter Foss & Patrick Crushell 2017 unless otherwise stated. Copyright Longford & Roscommon County Councils. Report cover images: Derreenasoo Bog, Co. Roscommon (Photo: P. Foss) Counties Longford & Roscommon Wetland Study Wetland Surveys Ireland 2017 ____________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ballaghaderreen Labour Catchment
    WDC Insights Travel to Work and Labour Catchments in the Western Region A Profile of the Ballaghaderreen Labour Catchment 2019 Labour Catchments in the Western Region Ballaghaderreen Labour Catchment Introduction The Western Development Commission (WDC) commissioned All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO) at Maynooth University to undertake an analysis of the Census 2016 Place of Work Census of Anonymised Records (POWCAR) dataset. This was to provide a detailed understanding of the travel to work patterns of workers living in the Western Region. The study was also asked to examine the changes in the travel to work patterns that have occurred since the WDC produced the original report based on Census 2006 data. Travel to Work and Labour Catchments in the Western Region, published in 2018, identified 42 labour catchments in the Western Region (Census 2016). These are illustrated on Map 1 on page 5. The geographic size of the labour catchments varies considerably, ranging from Galway city with over 70,000 resident workers, to centres with fewer than 1,000 resident workers. Map 1 illustrates the labour catchments of all towns with a population greater than 1,000 in the Western Region as of April 2016. The travel to work patterns of seven towns: Galway, Sligo, Ennis, Letterkenny, Castlebar, Carrick-on-Shannon and Roscommon were examined in the main report and this is available for download on the WDC website1. To complement the existing labour catchment analysis the WDC has now produced reports for all other labour catchments associated with towns that are located entirely within the Western Region; 26 in total.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthony Cahill APPELLANT
    Appeal No. VA93/2/003 AN BINSE LUACHÁLA VALUATION TRIBUNAL AN tACHT LUACHÁLA, 1988 VALUATION ACT, 1988 Anthony Cahill APPELLANT and Commissioner of Valuation RESPONDENT RE: Supermarket at Map Ref: 53.54.55/1 Main Street, Townland of Castlereagh, Castlerea Ward, R.D. Castlerea, Co. Roscommon Quantum B E F O R E Henry Abbott S.C. Chairman Veronica Gates Barrister Joe Carey P.C. M.I.A.V.I. JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL ISSUED ON THE 10TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1993 By Notice of Appeal dated the 3rd of May, 1993 the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a Rateable Valuation of £250.00 on the above described hereditament. The grounds of appeal as set out in the Notice of Appeal are that "the type of building did not justify the rates being applied. Further more the accounts have not shown a profit for the last two years and will not for the next 3 years. The extra burden would put very serious pressure on the appellant to keep in business". 2 The Property The property consists of a newsagents shop of 1,400 square feet and adjoining hardware shop of 1,980 square feet with supermarket of 5,536 square feet to rear and stores of 2,400 square feet to rear of supermarket. There is a first floor canteen of 481 square feet. Substantial reconstruction was carried out 1989/90 involving an extension of the supermarket and change of internal layout. Cost of reconstruction quoted at £100,000. Car park to rear with access to supermarket.
    [Show full text]
  • Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland. for the Guidance of Registration Officers and the Public In
    « f xim ..^mm: EX LIBRIS. Bertram CT. 3, JHintilr, ILIL.D., Q.Sc, S.S.©., JF.Ja.^. OFFICIAL . YAKIETIES AND SYNONYMES OF SUENAMES AND CHRISTIAN NAMES IN IRELAND. FOR THE GUIDANCE OF REGISTRATION OFFICERS AND THE PUBLIC IN SEARCHING THE INDEXES OF BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES. BY ROBERT E MATHESON, BARR1STKR-AT-JLA\V, REGISTRAR-GENERAL. DUBLIN: PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STAT10^'EKY OFEJCE, By Alex. Thom & Co. (Limited), 87, 88, & 89, Abbey-street. through any Bookseller, from And to be purchased, either directly or Grafton-stkeet, Dublin or HODGES, FIGGIS & Co. (Limited), 104, ; EYRE & SPOTTISWOODE, East Harding-street, Fleet-street, E.C. -, or and JOHN MENZIES & Co., Rose-street, Edinburgh, 90, West Nile-street, Glasgow. 1901. Frice One Shilling. 4 19S7 9776 PREFACE The First Edition of this book was issued in the year 1890 with the object of assisting Registration Officers and the Public searching the Indexes of Births, Deaths, and Marriages by collating the varieties in the form and spelling of names usually met with, and also those names differing altogether in form, which had been ascertained to be used interchangeably. A careful note lias been made during the decade of cases where additional varieties or peculiarities in Sur- names and Christian names have come under notice in this Office, or have been reported by local Officers. In view of the revision of the Work, I addressed a special circular to the Superintendent Registrars and Registrars asking for information as to the nomenclature in their respective Districts, and I now beg to thank those Officers who have so kindly responded to my request, and in many cases furnished additional information of interest and value.
    [Show full text]
  • Castlerea Local Area Plan 2016 – 2022 Page I Table of Contents
    CASTLEREA LOCAL AREA PLAN 2016 - 2022 th EFFECTIVE DATE 12 DECEMBER 2016 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 STATUTORY CONTEXT 1 1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS 1 1.2.1 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) 1 1.2.2 Appropriate Assessment (AA) 1 1.2.3 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) 1 1.3 PUBLIC CONSULTATION 2 2 POLICY CONTEXT 3 2.1 NATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONTEXT 3 2.2 COUNTY CONTEXT 3 2.3 POPULATION CONTEXT 3 2.3.1 Core Strategy, Settlement Hierarchy and Population Calculations 3 2.4 SETTLEMENT POLICY 3 MAPS: Map 1: National Spatial Strategy (West Region) Map 2: County Roscommon Settlement Hierarchy Map 3: Castlerea Location Map 3 PROFILE OF CASTLEREA TOWN 5 3.1 EXISTING CONTEXT 5 3.1.1 General 5 3.1.2 Population and Demographic Profile 5 3.1.3 Infrastructure and Services 6 3.1.3.1 Roads and Transportation 6 3.1.3.2 Water Services 6 3.1.3.3 Flood Risk and Protection 7 3.1.3.4 Wastewater Services 7 3.1.3.5 Waste Management 7 3.1.3.6 Energy 8 3.1.3.7 Telecommunications 8 3.1.4 Social and Community Facilities 8 3.1.4.1 Community Facilities 8 3.1.4.2 Schools and Educational Facilities 8 3.1.4.3 Health 9 3.1.4.4 Burial Grounds 9 3.1.4.5 Fire Service 9 3.1.5 Recreation, Leisure and Tourism 9 3.1.5.1 Open Space, Sporting Provision and Activities 9 3.1.5.2 Tourism Resources, Facilities and Infrastructure 10 Castlerea Local Area Plan 2016 – 2022 Page i Table of Contents 3.1.6 Built and Natural Heritage 10 3.1.6.1 Architectural and Archaeological Heritage 10 3.1.6.2 Natural Heritage 11
    [Show full text]
  • In1837 the Irish Poor Law Bill Was Introduced
    THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKHOUSES: constructing workhouses. By the end of 1844, 113 were opened, a year later there were 122 and the remaining 8 n1837 the Irish Poor Law Bill was introduced and were opened in 1846. By 1850 the number of workhouses passed by Parliament. It was based, not on the had increased to 163. Each Union had a workhouse, Irecommendations of the Royal Commission of which was administered by a Board of Guardians, Inquiry into. the condition of the poor in Ireland 1833-' 36, composed of members, elected by ratepayers and of but on those of an English Poor Law Commissioner, Justices of the Peace, resident in the Union. The George Nicholls .. Commissioners issued regulations with regard to the He submitted his report after a nine week visit to keeping of accounts, the election of Guardians, the duties Ireland. The Government which passed the Poor Laws of Poor Law Officers and the management of the believed that the sufferings of the poor were of their own workhouse. The Commissioners were authorised also to creation and the remedy within their own control. The audit Union accounts and could control the appointment workhouse was intended as a test of destitution. The relief and removal of Poor Law Guardians and Officers. The provided there was to be less desirable than that paid Officers of the workhouse were - Master, Matron, obtainable by independent means. Such was the misery of Medical Officer, Porter and - should the Poor Law the Irish poor at the time that this was impossible, and so Commissioners direct - a school Master and school it was determined that the irksomeness of the system Mistress.
    [Show full text]
  • A Walk Around Ireland - County by County
    A walk around Ireland - County by County This article can do little justice to the beauty and splendor that is Ireland. As we ramble around the country we will briefly mention the places that are of little acclaim - but should not be missed, to the more widely recognized locations you will find in any travel guide. These are the spots this writer has visited and will visit again, but in no way meant to suggest as the best or worst places spend a while. Ireland consists of four provinces: Leinster , Munster, Connacht and Ulster. This is Leinster - Cúige Laighean. Dublin City Co. Dublin, the largest city in Ireland, founded by the Vikings over 1,500 years ago. Being the political and commercial capital of Ireland, you will find the Presidential Residence in the Phoenix Park - the largest city park in Europe, over 1750 acres, within the city limits. Here also are many of the offices for governmental affairs, Trinity College – with the Book of Kells and Brian Boro’s harp, the General Post Office – G.P.O., a key site from the 1916 rising and and a host of museums, theaters and home to Ireland’s most famous export Guinness – at St. James Gate, where you will be able to sample the freshest pint of Guinness on the planet. Pub life is one of Ireland’s attractions and you will find an endless selection of locations to visit – but perhaps start at the “Brazenhead” one of Ireland’s oldest, licensed in 1666 but said to date from the 1300’s.
    [Show full text]
  • Semi-Natural Grassland Survey of Counties
    SEMI -NATURAL GRASSLAND SURVEY OF COUNTIES ROSCOMMON AND OFFALY J.R. Martin, M. Gabbett, P.M. Perrin, A. Delaney December 2007 Acknowledgements We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the planning and completion of this project. The work has been funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government). We would like to thank Marie Dromey for her guidance throughout the project and Simon Barron and Claire Byrne for their opinions and advice. We acknowledge the help of Jim Moore, Jim Ryan, Caitríona Douglas, Naomi Kingston, Claudia Kemna Lee and Helena Campbell of the NPWS, plus other NPWS field staff who suggested sites for survey. Dr Tamara Hochstrasser, Dr David Bourke and Stephen Heery also gave us invaluable assistance. We are grateful to Cliodhna Ni Bhrain, Karl Duffy, Saoirse O’Donoghue and Aisling Walsh for their hard work in the field. We also appreciate the mapping expertise brought to the project by Fernando Fernandez Valverde. Finally, we thank the farmers of Offaly and Roscommon for giving us permission to survey their land and for the background information they provided. Executive Summary Ninety-one sites and 305 relevés in Roscommon and Offaly were surveyed from May to September 2007. Of the 91 sites 39 were within a designated area, SAC (Special Area of Conservation) or NHA (Natural Heritage Area). Wet grassland was the most frequent semi-natural grassland habitat, recorded at 65% of sites, and dry-humid grassland was the least frequent found at 8% of sites. The most common EU Annex I grassland habitats were Festuca-Brometalia (6210/6211) recorded at 18% of sites and Molinia meadows (6410) recorded at 13% of sites.
    [Show full text]