President Higgins is protecting one of Ireland’s rarest species of bat
June 14th 2016
Image: Donna Mullen, Bat Conservation Ireland, presenting President Michael D Higgins with bat box.
Irish President Michael D Higgins last week accepted a gift of a bat box which could help house one of Ireland’s rarest bats.
The gift was given by Donna Mullen of Bat Conservation Ireland who hopes it will become the home of a Nathusius Pipistrelle which has been heard calling in the vicinity the President’s home in the Phoenix Park.
The Nathusius Pipistrelle is a rare bat in the Republic with no recorded breeding pairs. However a male Nathusius Pipistrelle has been recorded near Áras an Uachtaráin, Donna explains:
“We have recorded a male Nathusius within the Phoenix Park so I brought the bat box for the President so that the bat might have a home and maybe he will attract down a mate.”
The present was given at the President’s garden party for people and groups who have been involved in promoting Sustainable Development.
Representatives from each of the organisations which make up the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) were invited to the event where some 500 people took part in the festivities. Guests were given a tour of the Áras and its gardens while various musicians and musical acts played.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Attracta Uí Bhroin ELIG, Charles Stanley Smith An Taisce, Justin Byrne IEN, Olan Herr Zero Waste Alliance, Mark Boyden Coomhola Salmon Trust, Mark Keegan, Enda Buckley IEN, Ian Carey IEN, Vanessa Moore Global Action Plan, Donna Mullen Bat Conservation Ireland, Dave Brooks IEN, Oonagh Duggan BirdWatch Ireland, Fiacc O’Brolchain Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, Brendan Price Irish Seal Sanctuary, Jack O’Sullivan IEN Director, Kate McAney Vincent Wildlife Trust, Michael Ewing Environmental Pillar, Sinead O’Brien SWAN, Aedín McLoughlin Good Energies Alliance Ireland, Anja Murray IEN Director, Devyn Olson-Sawyer Cultivate, Diane Chair ELIG, Conor Mulvihill IEN, Tommy Simpson Sonairte, Marie-Amélie Brun IEN, Duncan Martin Sustainable Projects Ireland.
The highlight of the afternoon was a speech given by President Higgins where he thanked those who worked towards sustainable development over the course of the last year when the UN Sustainable Development Goals were agreed by 193 countries in New York. President Higgins made the point in his speech that the science of climate change is clear and now is the time to act.
Listen here to President Higgin’s speech:
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