Scragh Bog

Scragh Bog was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1992.^[1] A large area of the bog was bought by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council with funding from the Dutch Foundation for the Conservation of Irish Bogs in 1987.^[2] It was later handed over to the Irish state to be managed as a nature reserve.^[3]

Scragh Bog is deemed to be Ireland's best example of a habitat transitioning from an alkaline fen to an acidic raised bog, one of only a small number still extant in Europe and of international importance. A large number of rare flora and insects in Europe have been recorded in the reserve. Some of the flora include sundew, round-leaved wintergreen, and sphagnum moss.^[3] The creation of the nature reserve was cited as the reason that a number of rare insects have been conserved in Ireland.^[4]

Skylarks and common snipe live on the reserve.^[3] The site has a number of boardwalk routes for visitors.^[5][6]

• O'Connell, M. The Developmental History of Scragh Bog, Co. Westmeath and the Vegetational History of Its Hinterland. The New Phytologist, vol. 85, no. 2, 1980, pp. 301–319.
• O'Connell, Michael. The Phytosociology and Ecology of Scragh Bog, Co. Westmeath. The New Phytologist, vol. 87, no. 1, 1981, pp. 139–187.
• Hannigan, E., Kelly-Quinn, M. & O'Connor, J.P. 2009. Notable caddisflies (Trichoptera) from Scragh Bog, Co.Westmeath, including Erotesis baltica McLachlan new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 33: 76–80.