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Island in the Bog

Lullymore is a mineral soil island, covering an area of 220ha within the Bog of Allen in Co. Kildare. The Island is 93m above sea level. It is surrounded by Lullymore Bog with an area of 6,575ha. This bog is part of the Bog of Allen. The population of Lullymore Island is circa 150 people in 50 homes. The island can be reached by following the R414 road from Allenwood to Rathangan. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council have their headquarters on the Island at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre.

Marlene Jansen and Ineke Roell of the Larenstein University, The Netherlands undertook a survey of Lullymore Island during the summer of 2005. The survey produced this map which acts as a guide to the rich heritage found on Lullymore Island. Lullymore Island is surrounded on all sides by the Bog of Allen. © 2005 Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

MONASTIC SETTLEMENT
St. Patrick's first church, dating from the 5th century was at Lullymore Island. The foundations of the monastic settlement are still visible today surrounding a restored, walled graveyard.

Access to Lullymore East Graveyard is directly opposite the entrance to the Bog of Allen Nature Centre. The route is a public right of way but we would ask visitors to respect the property or our neighbour Mr. Tom Doyle.

TOGHER & DANES ROADS
Ancient roads connected Lullymore Island with other mineral soil islands in the bog such as nearby Lullybeg and Derrybrennan. These ancient roads were called toghers and were often made from wood. Part of these ancient roadways may still be seen in the turf banks of the Bog of Allen.

Part of an ancient roadway or toghers leading across the bog to the monastic settlement on Lullymore Island may still be seen in the turf banks around the island.

THE 1798 REBELLION
Captain John Doorley (1771-1798), born in Lullymore, led the battalion which captured the town of Rathangan from Crown Forces during the 1798 Rebellion. A monument to honour the captain stands at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre.

This monument to honour Captain John Doorley stands at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre.

THE MURPHY FAMILY
The last landowners of Lullymore Island were the Murphy family. They built Lullymore Lodge as a shooting residence in the mid 19th century, circa 1860. The Murphy's had nearby Lodge Bog preserved for grouse-shooting. In 1932 when Major Brudnell Murphy died, Lullymore Island was sold to the Land Commission.

Today there are just 50 houses on Lullymore Island and the estimated population of the island is 150. Houses are still being built on the island but the oldest house is Lullymore Lodge which was built in or around 1860.

Image of the Lullymore Lodge house once owned by the Murphy family from Co. Dublin who used the house as a shootong residence in the mid 19th century.

WILDLIFE
The landscape of Lullymore Island is a patchwork of fields, criss-crossed by hedgerows. A survey of the hedgerows in 2005 found 12km of good quality Hawthorn and Blackthorn hedges on the Island. There are at least 150 species of plant, animal and bird found on Lullymore Island. Adjacent to the island there is the pristine Lodge Bog and the cutaway bog at Lullymore West, both wildlife reserves being conserved by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

LAND USE
In the last 50 years the land use on Lullymore has changed from small farms with small fields, into big farms with big fields. Seventy years ago, most of the land was used to grow grain and vegetables as subsistence crops. Nowadays, most of the land on Lullymore Island is used by farmers to grow arable crops and for grazing cows.

PEAT INDUSTRY
Entrepreneurs began the industrial exploitation of the Bog of Allen in the early 19th century. It was not until 1946, when Bord na Móna was formed, that the industry became organised and the systematic exploitation of the Bog of Allen began. Today, over 95% of the Bog of Allen has been cut away.

CONSERVATION
In 2004 Bord na Móna donated two areas of bogland surrounding Lullymore Island to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council. The sites are Lodge Bog (28ha) and Lullymore West (4.5ha). They will be conserved and managed to protect an example of intact raised bog habitat and to protect the rare and endangered marsh fritillary butterfly. Go to the index page and follow the link for Lodge Bog to learn more about this protected peatland.

The protected Marsh Fritillary butterfly is found on Lullymore West bog. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council are carrying out a number of management projects on the site for example the site will be fenced to clearly mark the boundaries and a vegetation survey is being carried out.

THANK YOU
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council wish to thank both Marlene Jansen and Ineke Röell and the Larenstein University for undertaking the Heritage Survey of Lullymore Island. We are grateful to Jimmy Earle and Tom Doyle for providing valuable information on local history. We appreciate all the time residents of Lullymore gave to completing questionnaires and we wish to thank them for allowing us access to their lands during field work.

© 2007 Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare