Boost for prospect of national park on Dingle peninsula

Hopes for a national park on the Dingle Peninsula have received a further boost with news that a sale has been agreed on a large portion of land in Conor Pass, Co Kerry.

While the potential purchaser is not being revealed, it has been heavily speculated on the Dingle Peninsula that the state is interested in acquiring the land as part of its efforts to develop a national park in the well-known beauty spot.

The holding in question is one of two large land parcels in the Conor Pass which have been placed on the market in recent months.

The property on which sale has been agreed contains 330 acres of land and features nine lakes, the entire Abhainn Mhór river system and associated fishing rights.

The holding was placed on the market with a guide price of €1.5m last September, shortly after another larger property, which lies alongside it, had been put up for sale.

Michael H Daniels auctioneer who is handling the sale of the Abhainn Mhór Fishery and lands, confirmed that sale had been agreed.

However, when asked if the buyer was a state entity or a private individual, Mr Daniels declined to comment.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage did not directly address a specific query in relation to sale of the Abhainn Mhór Fishery.

They said: "The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage occasionally purchases land for strategic and conservation purposes.

"Such acquisitions are considered on a case-by-case basis. For many reasons, not least commercial sensitivity, the Department/NPWS cannot comment on any individual site that is offered for sale."

Earlier today, the Irish Times reported that the Government is close to a deal to buy another 1,400 acre holding on the Conor Pass.

An American owner is selling the land, forestry and a number of lakes with an initial guide-price of €10m.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously indicated that the Government would be interested in discussing the possibility of acquiring the property, but only if it was available at a reasonable price.

While a draft agreement has yet to be settled, Minister for Education Norma Foley said "Darragh O’Brien, the Minister for Housing, is very positively disposed to this. It would be a significant acquisition for Kerry and for Kerry tourism".

Local Green Party candidate Dr Peadar Ó Fionnáin said that indications of movement on both land holdings were a positive development.

"While there is no deal signed yet, I think Minister of State Malcolm Noonan has been very clear and is looking with great interest at the Conor Pass," said Dr Ó Fionnáin.

"This is more than just tourism. It’s about the value of nature and about how we best manage the uplands. We have to look at ways of promoting nature, in ways that humans can live alongside it, but also in ways that don’t damage it through over-grazing or over-tourism." he added.

Local publican Mícheál O’Dowd said that the establishment of a national park would be a "game-changer" for the communities living on the foothills of the Cnoc Bréanainn mountain-range.

He said: "In the past thirty years we have had nothing but decline and evacuation from here. It could be one of the finest walking areas in the world and bring thousands of visitors to small villages like An Clochán.

"It would provide a place for the study of nature, our Celtic history, where people lived back there 5,000 years ago and even the geology is so valuable. A national park would give us a foundation for a different future and maybe young people who have gone abroad might return and keep our community going."

Planned purchase of 1,400 holding on Conor Pass compared to Fungi return

Separately, the State's potential purchase of the 1,400 holding on the Conor Pass will be like bringing Fungi the Dolphin back to Dingle, a local Fianna Fáil councillor has said.

"It looks like it’s going to happen," Castleisland-Corcha Dhuibhne councillor Breandán Fitzgerald told Radio Kerry.

"This will be like Fungi the dolphin coming to Dingle. We will have a national park on our doorstep. We lost Fungi but we will have gained a national park," he added, and that it would be like the Killarney National Park in terms of attracting tourists.

Mr Fitzgerald was among the first to call on the State to purchase the 1,400 acres of land when it was put on the market by its US owner last August.

He later put down a motion to get the full backing of Kerry County Council for the move.

Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien indicated his support when approached at the recent Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, Mr Fitzgerald said.

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said that if the State were to pay the money being sought, it would be better used for housing in Dingle.

A maximum of €2,500 per acre is being paid for sites surrounding Killarney National Park, where the National Parks and Wildlife Service is actively acquiring land, sources confirmed late last year.