Cashel Loughs

Cashel Loughs is an extensive area of semi-natural vegetation in an ice-scoured rock basin. It takes in a wide range of habitats including dry heath, acid grassland, scrub and woodland. The wetlands are of particular importance, with a range of communities including the open waters of the three loughs in addition to adjoining fen, cut-over bog, wet heath and rush pasture. 

The area contains a number of vascular plants with a restricted distribution in the British isles, including Marsh St. John’s-wort, Western Gorse and a number of notable mosses. The diversity of wetland habitats supports a rich invertebrate community including 30 species of water beetle, 15 species of spider and 10 species of ground beetle. In addition to its overall diversity, the site contains a number of notable species including the rove beetle Stenus nitens, the water beetle Laccornis oblongus and four species of spider.

There is no public access to this site.

Castle Enigan

Castle Enigan is an extensive inter-drumlin basin with a wide range of wetland communities lying between ridges of higher ground. These raised areas support a range of habitats including wet heath, acid grasslands, scrub and wood which add considerable diversity to the site. 

Much of the fen has developed on cut-over bog and some deep pools still remain. The vegetation is characterised by Bottle Sedge and Water Horsetail with associated herbs and grasses. Notable plants recorded from the fen include Cowbane, Narrow Buckler-fern and Fen Bedstraw  and numerous rare mosses. The site is also important for wetland birds and invertebrates. Notable species include the ground beetle Pterostichus aterrimus, the water beetle Laccornis oblongus and the water bug Hebrus ruficeps.

There is no public access to this site.

Derryleckagh

Derryleckagh is of Special Scientific Interest because it contains a large example of a transitional valley mire and a small, associated base-rich semi-natural woodland on it’s eastern slopes, a scarce habitat type in Northern Ireland. These habitats support a wide range of distinctive and characteristic plant, vertebrate and invertebrate communities which include a number of notable species.

The basin fen, which is in a transitional stage between fen and bog, is characterised by its broad range of surface conditions, ranging from slightly base-rich to markedly acidic. This has enabled a typical range of wet-mire plant communities to develop. The main plant community is formed by a rather open Bottle Sedge and brown moss association with associated Bogbean , Marsh Cinquefoil and  mosses forming the bulk of the vegetation.

The site is also of importance for the mosaic of other habitat and community types found which include localised communities of mixed sedge swards and Common Reed beds around old flooded peat cuttings, with associated soakaways, peaty margins supporting tall herb-rich vegetation. This gives way to a low, flushed sedge-rich sward on more mineral soils and raised areas of drier, more acidic peat, which support relict bog vegetation, and a number of adjoining fields, in which species-rich dry grassland communities occur.

 Records for insect groups indicate similarly rich and notable communities. As well as its overall diversity, the site contains a number of notable individual species. Species typical of oligotrophic waters are common in the open water pools, including the whirligig beetles and the corixid Sigara scotti.

Derryleckagh also supports a high density of breeding wetland passerine and rail species including Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Water Rail and Snipe.

There is no public access to this site.

Greenan Fen

Greenan is a basin fen. Although small, there is a range of vegetation types, including some notable fen communities and species. The centre of the area is a mosaic of open water and swamp, with pockets of more diverse acid fen. The swamp is dominated by Bottle sedge Carex rostrata with frequent associated species including a number of floating moss mats. To the north, there is an unusual fen community dominated by Water Horsetail and Ragged robin growing over a variable moss layer. This community is one of the most diverse in the area. Notable plants include Greater Bladder-wort, Floating Club-rush, Marsh St. John’s-wort and the moss Sphagnum squarrosum.

There is no public access to the site.

Greenan Lough

Greenan Lough includes open water, reedbeds and a range of associated vegetation types, including notable fen communities and species. Adjoining areas of grassland and scrub woodland provide additional habitat diversity. The open waters of the lough contain a variety of aquatic plant species. Typical shoreline species include Shoreweed and Water Lobelia. The swamp vegetation is dominated by Bottle sedge with associated herbs and grasses. In addition, localised stands of Common Club-rush and Common Reed have developed along the shore. In places, the swamp merges into a sparse carr woodland of Alder and Grey Willow. Notable fen species include Many-stalked Spike-rush, Blunt-flowered Rush, Floating Club-rush, Fen Bedstraw and Marsh St John’s-wort.

There is no public access to the site.

Slieve Gullion

Although the Slieve Gullion site is primarily a Heathland site, dominated by Heather. Two small basin fens also occur in the northern section of the site and, on flatter ground where the peat is deeper, blanket bog has developed.

The blanket bog  is characterised by ericoid dwarf-shrubs, Deergrass, Hare’s-tail Cottongrass and occasional Common Cottongrass, growing over a mixed moss and liverwort (bryophyte) mat. In some places, the peat surface is wetter, with species such as Bog Asphodel, Purple Moor-grass and Sphagnum bog mosses occurring. These blanket bog communities frequently occur with the heaths in a complex mosaic.

Although small, the three basin fens are very ‘natural’ and rich in wetland species, with a number of associated fen communities. The central areas are dominated by Sphagnum mosses and sedges, with localised stands of swamp characterised by Bottle Sedge and Bogbean . Other fen communities are dominated by Sharp-flowered Rush, growing with a variety of associated species depending on local edaphic conditions. Some of these rush-dominated communities are rich in plant species, with locally abundant Marsh Violet. The fen areas also contain small pockets of acid grassland and Willow scrub.

A number of notable plants have been recorded for Slieve Gullion. Some of the richer fen areas include Fen Bedstraw, Dioecious Sedge and Pale Butterwort. Bryophytes include the mosses Sphagnum squarrosum from the fen and Sphagnum compactum from the wet heath.

Slieve Gullion is also important for animals. Red Grouse has been recorded for the area, and there is also a rich invertebrate community, including the rove beetle Gyrrinusa brevicollis. This has been recorded from several sites in Northern Ireland, but is a scarce species in the rest of the British Isles.

There is no public access to this site.