My absolute favourite place on the island of Ireland is Killarney and this week I spent a few days wandering in a few of its ancient magical places. Tomies Wood is one of those places. I knew the weather was not going to be the best and went well prepared. The upside of rain showers and bursts of sunshine are rainbows and I was right up at the highest part of the trail looking down on Lough Leane to witness a few beauties. Mostly they were only partial ones as the showers moved across the lake casting fingers of light on the islands below. Magical. The rainbow at one point fell upon the island of Innisfallen, The Annals of Innisfallen, recording Ireland’s ancient history, were written there in the 11th century, however the monastery was burned by Cromwellians in 1652.
This woodland is predominantly holly, oak and larch which meant those gorgeous autumnal leaves and colours with bursts of dark green and bright red berries were all around me. A great place for the Sika deer to wander too, I was aware of their presence with soft calls and whistling falling on my ears and the not so quiet movements as twigs broke. A fair sized stag was watching me at one point which was a small bit unnerving but I am sure he was more interested in his ladies than what I was doing. There are two Killarney herds of Sika and Red Deer numbering about 800 which have ranged hereabouts since the last Ice Age. October is rutting season and I saw them down in the park two days ago. The Sika are quieter than the Red deer so I wasn’t too alarmed.
“The lower slopes of Tomies Mountain supports an extensive sessile oak wood. Until about 1580 it was a wild wood, then came heavy exploitation for charcoal for iron smelting and bark for tanneries.
Grazing animals did even more damage, consuming new shoots and saplings. Grazing was banned, and the wood clear-felled and replanted in the early 1800s.” Copied from another source. I would say however that some of the oaks are more than 200 years old so many must have survived.
I had come here for two reasons, one to photograph the fungi and anything else unusual or amazing and two, to see O’Sullivans Cascade which is a pretty impressive waterfall. We have had a lot of rain and a storm this last month so it was in full splendour. Lucky me.
This is also of course the season for fungi and because Killarney National Park is part of a special Biosphere Reserve it is home to a vast array of them. Foraging of any sort is forbidden here and the results are clear. The vast and diverse array of plants, trees, fungi and more is astonishing. Symbiotic relationships ensure the diversity of species proliferate, the cycles of life are untouched by human hands, it is a truly remarkable and beautiful area to explore and marvel at.
I often see shapes in the trees that resemble a mythical creature, or perhaps trees that have become entwined in a beautiful dance as they grow together. With this land being steeped in Irish Mythology, it is easy to imagine these were once creatures wandering these woods.
This trail is steeped in Irish Mythology. It is said that Tomies Woods and nearby mountain were the summer hunting ground of Fionn McChoumhaill and his followers: the Fianna, who were legendary hunters and warriors. Legend also has it that the cairns located on the summit of Tomies Mountain mark the burial place of an ancient Irish Chieftain. I passed these on the trail and thought perhaps they were burial mounds. Who knows.
After an epic day wandering and exploring I returned to town as I had somewhere I really wanted to be in the evening. A book launch and talk on a topic that fascinates me every time I visit the Killarney National Park… Fungi of Killarney National Park by Louis O’Toole. I grabbed my signed copy like a small child on her birthday on the way in and thoroughly enjoyed the hour long talk with slides. To be able to now identify the wonders that I see in the woods was such a gift. The book is going to be available online soon so if you’re interested then look out for it.
Watch out for my next post which will have more mushrooms and other fungi from ancient woodlands around Killarney National Park.
Karima Rebecca Powell Artist 