Glen of the Downs

This was a place that the locals lived in the trees for 5 years to stop the building of the freeway.

The Glen of the Downs is a 2km long wooded glacial valley with steep sides rising to almost 250m. It contains a designated Nature Reserve as well as a Special Area of Conservation. The valley was formed by the meltwater from a massive ice sheet. The rocks forming the sides of the valley are of the same quartzite as the two Sugarloaf hills.

Glen of The Downs Nature Reserve is also known as Bellevue. The Reserve is the finest example of oak wood of it’s type close to Dublin. It is largely Sessile Oak with an understorey of Holly and a dense carpet of Woodrush, Bilberry and Heather. The woods abound in birdlife and 21 breeding species have been recorded here. Each bird species occupies a distinct niche in the woodland having different feeding and nesting habits. Some, like the Jay, have a varied diet which includes berries and nuts while others such as Treecreepers and Wrens have largely insect based diet. The Wood Warbler builds on the ground, whereas the Woodpigeon prefers a platform of twigs up in the tree canopy. Birds such as the Blackbird and the Robin, are fiercely territorial and defend their feeding and nesting patch by singing and chasing off intruders.Read more