Clonegal

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes ringfort, bullaun stone and holy well sites in the surrounding townlands of Clonegall, Abbeydown and Huntington. Huntington Castle, also known as Clonegal Castle, is a 17th-century tower house close to the village centre. Built by Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde on the site of an earlier (possibly 15th century) structure, Huntington Castle was further extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. There were once eleven malt houses in and around the village, along with a wool and corn store, a police station and other shops. Clonegal won the "tidiest village" category in the 2014 and 2015 National Tidy Towns competitions.

Most-observed species

• Common Carder Bee

  Bombus pascuorum (Scopoli, 1763) · Insecta
  300
• White-tailed Bumble Bee

  Bombus lucorum (Linnaeus, 1761) · Insecta
  279
• Seven-spot Ladybird

  Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  237
• Ten-spot Ladybird

  Adalia decempunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  204
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  190
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  181
• Large Red Tailed Bumble Bee

  Bombus lapidarius (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  162
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  162

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2005-12-14
  27 km E of Wicklow, Ireland