February 27, 2020
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The Man-catcher!

In this month’s magazine, Éanna Ní Lamhna describes the life and lore of the smooth newt

I received a dead newt in the post last month. It was all wrapped up carefully in a large matchbox and the senders – an interested group of school children from Mallow who had found the dead newt – asked very nicely if I could tell them what it was, as their teacher wasn’t too sure. Looking like a tiny dragon, it had a long tail, four short legs and a long, flat head. It was a smooth newt, the only species of newt we have here in Ireland. There are two other species in Britain, but only the smooth newt arrived in Ireland after the Ice Age and before the land bridge formed.

To continue reading this article pick up a copy of The Irish Garden today. Or subscribe by visiting www.irishgardensubs.com. Prefer to phone? Call Kim at 01-2947712 (10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday).

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