Spahill and Clomantagh Hill is a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC) in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. The SAC is in the parish of Balleen and includes the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s of Clomantagh (Mt Garrett) and Spahill, in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Spahill is ''Cnoc na Spá'' and Clomantagh Hill is ''An Chloch Mhantach''.

Description

Spahill is the eastern part of the SAC and forms part of an escarpment which connects the

Slieveardagh Hills The Slieveardagh Hills are a low range of hills on the County Tipperary - Kilkenny border, mainly in the Tipperary barony of Slievardagh. The highest point is Clomantagh Hill

with the

Castlecomer Plateau The Castlecomer Plateau, or 'South Leinster Coalfield', is an upland area in the North of County Kilkenny, Ireland, extending into County Laois and County Carlow at its northern edge. The plateau is bounded on the east and south by the R44 ...

. Spahill is mostly

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

which is exposed in ledges and flat sheets and Clomantagh Hill has a geology which is quite similar to that of Spahill but the summit has an exposure of the overlying sandstone, this looks different from the limestone as it appears as low rocks. The different exposures of rocks over the sites gives rise to differences in the flora which is important because this variety of natural grassland communities has become rare in Ireland as a result of agricultural intensification.

Flora

The grasslands of the SAC contain a scattering of the

green-winged orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid ( synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East. Description It f ...

and two other orchids

frog orchid ''Coeloglossum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has long been considered to have only one species, ''Coeloglossum viride'', the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard ''Coeloglossum'' as part of the ...

and

Common Spotted-orchid ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. ''Dactylorhiza fuchsii'' is one of Europe's commonest wild orchids. It is widespread across much of Europe, with the range ext ...

have been recorded from the site. These are mainly in the base-rich areas overlying the limestone. Over the sandstone at the summit of Clomantagh Hill there is a markedly different flora which includes more

ling Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...

and other plants more typical of heaths. The SAC contains some woodland to its north west, mainly of

downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

and

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

which has a rich ground flora. The priority species that the SAC conserves is the green-winged orchid, a species listed in the Irish red data Book.

Clomantagh Hill

Clomantagh Hill, also known as Killoshulan rises to a height of , is the highest point in the northern Slieve Ardagh Hills, the 3rd highest point in County Kilkenny. and the 972nd highest summit in Ireland. It is classified as a Marilyn. Tne name of the mountain means ''Hill of the gapped stone''.

References

{{Mountains and hills of Leinster Mountains and hills of County Kilkenny Marilyns of Ireland

Description

Flora

Clomantagh Hill

See also

References