The Conor Pass – arguably Kerry’s most revered rally stage – is now part of a National Park.
Páírc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí was launched this week.
The new national park includes the Conor Pass, as well as new sites at Inch Peninsula, Mount Brandon and the Owenmore River.
It is the first time that a second national park has been established in the same county, following the designation of Killarney National Park back in 1932.
Kerry TD Norma Foley said:
“This will be an incredible amenity. It is a transformative moment for West Kerry and the entire county, allowing us to showcase the very best of our natural environment locally, nationally and internationally.”
Minister Foley has engaged consistently with Minister Darragh O’Brien since the Conor Pass and additional areas came up for sale last year. She said that the new national park would now be in place for the people of Kerry and for tourists from all over the world.
“I am delighted that the astounding beauty of my home county and her pristine seas has been recognised today by the creation of a second National Park in Kerry; Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí.”
Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí is Ireland’s eighth and largest National Park, with more than 70,000 acres of lands and seas in public ownership.
It brings together new acquisitions by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, such as the Conor Pass, the Owenmore River catchment, lands at Mount Brandon and the sand dune system at Inch Peninsula, along with sites already under State ownership, such as the limestone reefs of Kerry Head Shoals and the waters around the Blasket Islands.
The Conor Pass is steeped in motorsport history – here are just some of the previously published stories about the famous stage
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