The Field: a grassland restoration project in Ballymorran
Grid: J5160
NOT open to the public (privately-owned).
The Field is a field in Ballymorran which was fallow for years before we bought it. It is now managed as a species-rich lowland grassland. It was originally cut for hay in the autumn, but is now only grazed in winter. We introduced Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) to suppress grasses, with seed bought from England. Since then I have become more conscious of local genetics and have introduced other plants from species-rich grasslands on nearby islands: Euphrasia nemorosa from Roe Island, Odontites vernus from Darragh Island, and Succisa pratensis from various sites including Darragh Island but also many other places including as far as Acaill in Mayo. I have sown seeds of Conopodium majus both from the few existing plants already present and from Shamrock Island, and a resulting plant flowered in 2025.
Plantago lanceolata was very abundant for a while, but seems to be decreasing now. It's gone from dominant to sort of co-dominant with some of the grasses, Hypochoeris, Rhinanthus, and various legumes including clovers, Lathyrus pratensis, and Lotus spp. in places. In 2020 we actually had a Marsh Fritillary pass through for a few days which was a big surprise! In 2021 I found a Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens) which doesn't have many Irish records so it was nice to add another grid square to its distribution map.
See iNaturalist records from the Field here.
