Barn owl conservation proposal

A proposal to establish a barn owl conservation project in Tipperary was discussed at the April meeting of Nenagh Municipal District.

Cllr Michael O'Meara organised a meeting on barn owls, which was attended by representatives of the Birdwatch Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, in Lorrha last year. He told the district meeting that a lot of people are interested in supporting the barn owl in Tipperary, one of three counties considered to be a stronghold of the the iconic bird species. Local authorities in Cork and Galway are providing barn owl boxes that can be established on properties, and perhaps Tipperary could follow with a pilot project aimed at increasing the local population again, Cllr O'Meara suggested.

Cllr Joe Hannigan believed the proposal would work well with Transition Year programmes in local schools. County Librarian Damien Dullaghan said he would discuss the idea with the the council's Heritage Officer.