Welcome to Cloncrow Bog and Village Trail.  The bog boreen leading to Cloncrow Raised Bog was used for generations by local people to gain access to the bog where they cut Turf in the traditional manner using a Sleán. Turf or Peat was their main source of fuel for home heating and cooking.

Domestic turf cutting on Clonrow finished some 20 years ago and most of the bog is still intact and is now protected as a Natural Heritage Area.

Cloncrow is a raised bog. It originated in a waterlogged hollow, surrounded by glacial sands and gravels some 10,000 years ago long before people arrived in Ireland.

This shallow lake became clogged with reed and rushed and became a Fen or Mire.  In time the highly specialised plants which we see on the bog today began to colonise.  Chief among these were the Sphagnum Mosses which derive all their nutrients from rainwater. They have the capacity to grow upwards one year’s plant growing from the previous years.  This led to the accumulation of plant material from one year to the next.  The bog creates a very acidic environment devoid of microbes and bacteria.  Because of this, plant material is preserved and builds up to form a dome or raised bog. In places Cloncrow Bog is 10 meters deep which represents 10,000 years of accumulated vegetation.  This represents a huge store of Carbon and as long as the watertable is kept close to the surface this Carbon is locked in.

In 2023 our Community Group Ethos installed a boardwalk across the perimeter of the bog linking the village Community with this unique environment. The boardwalk brings you across the bog and through some natural woodland with spectacular Scots Pine and Birch trees.

The plants of the bog are uniquely adapted to this harsh nutrient poor environment.

The Sundew is a carnivorous plants which feeds on tiny insects which feed and breed on the surface.

Bog Asphodel has the ability to lock nitrogen from the atmosphere into its root system and the heathers and sedges have also evolved to thrive in this unique environment.

The Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Cuckoo are welcome visitors to the bog during the summer where they ground nest and rear their young.

Insect life is equally special with the raft spider, tiger beetle and a host of moths and butterflies.

Hundreds of species of moth live on and in the woodlands surrounding Cloncrow. The Emperor moth is spectacularly coloured and patrols the bog in search of a mate while the  red listed Large Heath Butterfly and the Marsh Fritillary are also welcome inhabitants.

Following the Bog trail you will emerge at the other end of the village and following the Village trail you will become acquainted with its rich Historic and Cultural Heritage.  The Countess Jane of Belvedere was responsible for much of the Neo Georgian development around the village green while the story of James Daly who was executed by the British while serving in the Connaught Ranger adds a whole new dimension to the villages heritage.  Sculpture by Imogen Stuard  and John Bacon jnr adorn the village streetscape and the trail will bring you back to the early settlers, the Tyrrells who built the Castle at the Trailhead.