The castle was built in two phases, a Tower House in the 15th century and the tower to its left in the 16th/17th century. On the biodiversity front, the castle contains extremely valuable treasures. Wildflowers thrive at heritage sites if allowed to do so, and bat roosts can be found in old stone buildings and in the trees of the surrounding Athlumney woodlands. Female bats gather in roosts known as nursery roosts in late spring and early summer. Unlike birds, bats do not gather nesting material to roost. The only way they gain access to building is through existing holes as their teeth can't chew through building material.
There are eight confirmed bat species in Co. Meath. At least four have been sighted in the Athlumney area: The Common Pipistrelle, the Soprano Pipistrelle, the Leisler's bat, and the Daubenton's bat. Their diet mainly consists of the 3 M’s: Midges, Moths, and Mosquitoes. Their feeding grounds include hedgerows, fields, the River Boyne, and the Athlumney woodlands. Hedgerows are essential to the bats survival as they use them to orientate themselves and to camouflage against potential predators.
Look: If you’re out in the bright daylight, take a look at all the different plants growing on the old walls here. If you’re out at dusk, keep an eye for the bats emerging to feed on insects. To hear bat sounds, you would need a bat detector. The discovery of echolocation in the 1950s paved the way for the development of small hand-held instruments that can pick up ultrasound and convert it into lower frequency sounds that us humans can hear.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Find a space in your garden to plant native pollinator friendly plants like ivy, woodbine, hawthorn. You could also get involved in helping with bat surveys along our rivers: find out more at www.batconservationireland.org.