From 30,000 acorns to mighty oaks — with luck and a little help

National Park and Wildlife Service Outdoor staff in Killarney National Park painstakingly sowed 31,375 acorns, under the supervision of Horticulturalist Gerry Murphy and Gardener Stephen Moore

NPWS outdoor staff, James Doherty, left, PJ Murphy, centre, with NPWS Conservation Ranger, Tim Cahalane, plant oak saplings in Derrycunnihy woodland. Picture: Valerie O'Sullivan/

A new project in Killarney National Park has seen park staff collect and then germinate thousands of acorns to help nature along.

Killarney has about 3,000 acres of oak, most of it sessile oak. It is largest native woodland remaining in Ireland and a throwback to when the island itself was covered. Oak was cut down extensively during the colonial era in Killarney and its surrounds. To this day clumps of stitchwort, a white-flowered plant, will be found where old oaks once grew. Most of what is remaining is found around Lough Leane, with place names such as Derrycunihy (Daire means oak) a clear indication of the type of woodland involved.