2021 County Report for Co. Clare

Hannah Mulcahy, Phoebe O'Brien, Donncha Ó Catháin

It’s been a busy 2021 for joint VCRs in Co. Clare and we have been settling well into our new roles and getting out and about as much as possible. As part of our recording efforts in 2021, we made the most of extended periods of dry weather to explore some small yet interesting wetlands throughout Clare. This including bogs and poor fen habitats in localities which to date have received little or no recording attention. This resulted in some interesting finds including new sites for the following;

  • Vaccinium oxycoccus and Carex limosa (growing together at three new sites; Tullybrack Lough and Lough Acrow Bogs, West Clare; and Lough Nacreeva, Flagmount)
  • Carex canescens (Drumcullaun, Inagh; and Redmeadow, Kilmaley)
  • A few new sites for Drosera anglica

Other nice records for 2021 included:

  • New site confirmed for Viola persicifolia near at Ballymaley just north of Ennis.
  • Mercurialis perennis growing at Lee’s Road Wood near Ennis, as spotted by Maria Long. Not recorded from the locality since 1981.
  • Rubia peregrina at Ballycar near Newmarket on Fergus; previously unrecorded in East Clare.

Viola