By Sean Fagan
This was once Ireland. The upper lakes of the magnificent Killarney National Park (Photo: Sean Fagan).
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Places to Visit in Ireland...
KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK
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Near the base of the massive Iveragh peninsula of southwest Ireland are some of the best stands of native oak woodland in Ireland.
Evocative, dense stands of thickly-trunked, sessile oak adorn the undulating landscape of Killarney National Park.
To think, that throughout Ireland - from the banks of rivers and streams that meandered through the valley depths - right up along the steep, mountain slopes - vast stands of these woods once stood.
Of the two native oak species in Ireland, sessile and pendunculate, the sessile oak is the more massive, more rugged coloniser of damp, mountainous land.
As a bushcraft & survival resource, oak is exceptional.
A source of dense, durable carving wood as well as a source of medicine and food, oak is also a great source of tinder, kindling, and exceptionally hot, long-burning fuel.
When one walks through an old oak wood – with lichens and verdant ferns festooning its heavy, fissured branches – it's natural and effortless to be hushed into a reverential silence that seems befitting when one is at the feet of quiet giants.
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If time and opportunity allow, I strongly recommend a visit to Killarney National Park.
It's something you have to experience for yourself.
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