Cahermurphy Forest

Cahermurphy Forest lies beside the village of Flagmount in County Clare, on the shores of Lough Graney within Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. Managed by Coillte, the state forestry company, it is an unspoilt and quiet spot that borders a nature reserve, with a stretch of sandy lakeside shore known locally as the “White Sands.”

The forest park offers around 4km of scenic walks along forest and mountain paths, taking in a viewing point with fine vistas over Lough Graney. Facilities include free car parking, a lakeshore picnic site and opportunities for fishing on the lough. Dogs are welcome, and the site is free to visit, making it an easy outing for families and walkers alike.

Much of the woodland dates from the early 1950s and mixes lodgepole pine, Scots pine, Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, alder, birch and beech. Wildlife recorded here includes pine marten, badgers, squirrels and fallow deer, with otters found along the nearby Bleach river.

The wider area has a notable literary connection: it features in Brian Merriman’s celebrated poem “Cuirt an Mhean Oiche” (“The Midnight Court”), written in 1780. Cahermurphy House was once home to the traveller and writer Arthur Knox, and a stone caher, or ring fort, can still be seen from the road on nearby private land.