More than 30 acres of native woodland in An Spidéal, Co Galway have been purchased by the Native Woodlands Trust.
Coill Sheanadh Gharráin, on the eastern bank of the Both Loiscthe river, 2km north of the village will come under the trust's care.
The site is considered an 'Atlantic temperate rainforest’ within the Conamara bog complex conservation area and contains over 80 acres of heath, woodland and bogland.
The woodland will be managed by a new local branch of the trust in conjunction with members of Cumann Forbartha Chois Fharraige.
The Seanadh Gharráin site is the Native Woodland Trust’s 14th reserve, and the first reserve within a Gaeltacht area.
Considered a "special gem", the trust said it is potentially an ancient woodland and in close proximity to the ancient Seanadh Mhóinín woodlands on the opposite side of the Both Loiscthe river.
Ancient woodlands make up only 0.1% of Ireland’s landcover.
Many of the trees are thought to be 400 years old and the site appears on maps of the area from the early 1800s.
The site has an oak canopy, an understory of hazel and holly, mature Atlantic hazel woodland and a diverse ground flora including wood anemone, honeysuckle, violets, and rare species such as wood millet.
The presence of bilberry, a species that thrives in acidic soils, further highlights the site’s unique ecological character.
Wood-sorrel, violet and lesser celandine are found here in abundance as well as old oaks, young birches and hazel trees.
Cumann Forbartha Chois Fharraige chairman Seathrún Ó Tuairisg said Seanadh Gharráin is particularly important because of the type of old-growth woodland species found there, such as the wood anemone and the wood millet.
"There is a mix of different native trees growing there - there are lots of big oaks growing; deeper into the woods you will see birches and lots of holly."
The trust will implement a rewilding management plan onsite once all ecological and environmental surveys have been completed.
These surveys are to obtain baseline data on what is there and allow us to monitor changes at the site through the years.
