Coole Park
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Coole Park is a nature reserve of approximately 1000 acres (405 hectares) operated by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service and is located a few miles west of Gort, County Galway, Ireland. The park contains extensive woodlands and a series of turloughs with 6 kilometers of signposted nature trails plus a formal walled garden. The park was formerly the estate of Lady Gregory before being sold to the Irish state in 1927.
The walled garden contains an autograph tree that is engraved with initials of many of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival who were personal friends of Lady Gregory including William Butler Yeats, Edward Martyn, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge and Sean O'Casey. The Yeats poem The Wild Swans at Coole was inspired by the beauty of the swans in the turlough at Coole Park.
Coole Park is part of the Coole-Garryland Complex Special Area of Conservation (site code SAC 252) and the whole of the park is designated a Special Protection Area for birds under the EU 1979 Birds Directive (site code SPA 107). The grounds are open to the public all year round and a visitor center operates during high season (April to September inclusive).
See also
http://www.coolepark.ie
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