Char of the Kingdom
Fran Igoe

Kerry has been long known for its char, and local Kerry names include "Hobbin" and "Ruadh-bhreac". When writing about the Kerry char the famous char lakes of Killarney and Coomsaharn automatically spring to mind. Indeed Kerry is host to two of Tate Regan's char species: Salvelinus obtusus and Salvelinus fimbriatus.

Salvelinus fimbriatus from Lough Coomsaharn are distinguished by their increased number of gill rakers compared to other Irish and British populations and have gained international repute for that reason. Last November I had the pleasure of visiting this lake with Dr. Johan Hammar, Institute of Drottningholm, Sweden. The beauty of the lake is beyond description. According to Dr. Hammar's words, the lake is a fine example of an Arctic ecotype, which would not be out of place on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Char have existed in this mystical place since the last ice age, and unlike the golden eagle, still do.

The Killarney char (Salvelinus obtusus) are also well known and specimens have been recorded from both Lough Leane and Mucross or middle lake. They may well occur in the spectacular upper lake. They were believed to have been closely related to the char of Loughs Tay and Dan Co. Wicklow, sadly now extinct. Another lake, Lough Acoose, is also reputed to hold Salvelinus obtusus, although there are no recent records of char in that lake. It is well known that Lough Leane is host to other unusual fish species namely the ferox trout and the only Irish and British example of the freshwater twaite shad the "goureen".

Recent data would suggest that the char in Lough Leane are in serious trouble due to the eutrophic conditions of the lake, due to excessive nutrient inputs from the surrounding catchment. The scenery of the Killarney system is spectacular by any standards, whether viewed from the ground or the air, and is a fitting back drop to such a collection of unusual species, together with our Atlantic salmon.

As we move further west we encounter Lough Anscaul on the Dingle peninsula. The char in this lake remained undiscovered for over 10,000 years until Quigley and Nolan (1994) reported their existence. This is the only record of char from the Dingle peninsula. Further south we have the Currane system. Records of char exist from both the river and the famous sea trout lake itself. It is sometime now since there has been a reporting of char from this lake, and it is believed that the char in a sister lake in the catchment, Lough Iskanamacteary, may now be extinct. This would be a great pity if found to be true.

Records of char also exist in Cloonee, Uragh and Inchiquin, three small lakes situated close together on the Cloonee River System. How many more lakes in Kerry hold char is difficult to say, but you can be sure that there are a few. Kerry is famous for its pookas, puisogs, Leprechauns and we would like to add the red fellow to those mythical wonders.

If you happen to catch a char of know of any body who has we would be grateful if you could forward a photograph, and details of the length of the fish together with scales to:

Paul Mitchell,
11 Poddle Green,
Kimmage,
Dublin 12.

Any anecdotal information would also be very welcome.
This information will be added to the largest Irish char database and will be available to the general public for reference.
So keep those records coming in and good fishing.