Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Situated on the Dunkellin river, west of Craughwell in south-west Galway, this is the last large turlough (karst lake) remaining in Ireland. The site comprises marshes, seasonally flooded wet meadows, with limestone outcrops and scrub at its margins. In the summer the site is grazed by cattle and sheep.
This is an important site for wintering waterfowl. Species wintering in nationally important numbers include
Anser albifrons flavirostris (139 birds, 1995) and
Anas penelope (5,570 birds, 1996).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Drainage of the site has been a long-standing threat. However, its designation as a Special Protection Area and its status as a proposed candidate Special Area for Conservation (Rahasane Turlough; area not known) should reduce this threat. Disturbance to wintering birds is caused by wildfowling. There has been some clearance of limestone pavement next to the lake, with implications for water quality and disturbance to birds.
National None
International Partial221 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Rahasane Turlough, 221 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rahasane turlough (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rahasane-turlough-iba-ireland on 29/11/2024.
