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His first visit to enchanting Glendalough

Meets NPWS team who manage nature conservation

His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, visited Wicklow Mountains National Park during an official visit to Ireland today where he was brought on a tour of the country’s largest National Park.

He enjoyed the splendour of majestic Glendalough, and met with staff who work in nature conservation and education programmes.

On his arrival, he was greeted by the Secretary General of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Katherine Licken, and other officials of the Department. 

Wesley Atkinson, Regional Manager of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) - which is under the remit of the Department - was also among the welcoming party.  The NPWS manages Ireland’s nature conservation responsibilities as well as managing Irelands 6 National parks and 78 Natures Reserves.

Wicklow Mountains National Park is Ireland’s largest National Park and the only one found on the east coast. It covers over 22,000 hectares of the Wicklow uplands, comprising mainly bog and heath with smaller areas of native woodland, mountain streams.

During his tour of the Upper Lake he also met members of the two local Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team and the Dublin Wicklow mountain rescue team who have a close working relationship with the National Park.

His Royal Highness Prince Charles’ first stop on his tour of the National Park was the Upper Lake in Glendalough, which is one of its most recognisable parts.

While there he was introduced to the Supervisor Guide of the Wicklow Mountains National Park Education Programme, Gillian Stewart - also a member of the Department’s NPWS - and a number of schoolchildren from Scoil Chaoimhín Naofa in Glendalough who are participating in one of the many education programmes run in the National Park.

The education programme concentrates on Nature Awareness, for all ages, providing age-specific activity days for school groups, taking children and students into nature to learn about our plants, animals, habitats and ecology. 

Other members of the NPWS team in the area were present to greet Prince Charles and talk about their work.  They presented him with an oak seedling grown from an acorn collected from the oak woodlands in Glendalough to mark his visit.

Note to Editors 

Among the welcoming party at the Upper Lake in Glendalough were Trevor Donnelly, Principal Officer with the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht;  Pádraig Comerford, Divisional Manager with NPWS;  and Anne Fitzpatrick, Conservation Ranger for Glendalough.

The rich tapestry of natural and geomorphological heritage combined with its rich historic and cultural heritage makes Glendalough the jewel in the National Park’s crown. Glendalough, meaning ‘Valley of Two Lakes’ has a variety of habitats including native Sessile Oak woodland and also Scot’s Pine woodland. The valley is home to healthy populations of Red Squirrels, Pine Marten, Peregrine Falcons, Goosander, deer (Sika-Red hybrids) and feral goats. Woodpeckers (Great Spotted) returned to Ireland in c.2008, after an absence of a few hundred years, and were first recorded breeding here in the oak woodlands.