IRWC visits Pollardstown Fen

Last Friday, IRWC visited Pollardtown Fen located near Newbridge in County Kildare. Pollardstown  is perhaps the biggest fen in Ireland, and a real mosaic of plant communities fed by dozens of calcareous springs. The site is well used by the public, facilitated by a boardwalk circuit through the southern part of the site. There were significant challenges several years back associated with managing the flooding at the site during the construction of the Kildare Bypass. The fen habitat is best managed through grazing, and currently there are associated difficulties relating to finding suitable stock for grazing a ‘wet’ site, combined with the management of stock in a heavily-visited public amenity area.