An endangered species of bat has been discovered during the €60 million redevelopment of Dunboy Castle in west Cork into a luxury hotel.
Over 100 Lesser Horseshoe bats are roosting in the ruins of the castle which is being converted into a five-star hotel by Dublin-based Resort Hotel Developments.
On-site conservationists have just finished building a bat house and plan to entice the bats from the ruins of Dunboy castle outside Castletownbere into a new specifically developed habitat.
The bats, members of one of the rarest species in Europe, are protected by the European Habitat Directive and Ireland's 1976 Wildlife Act.
The development was not put on hold following the discovery of the flying mammals, but dealing with the issue has cost an additional €150,000, according to a spokesman for Resort Hotel Developments.
"It wasn't going to stop the project, but it has hampered it slightly. We've had to exclude an area so we wouldn't disturb the bats."
Conor Kelleher, bat specialist and ecologist hired by Creagh House Environmental at the site in Dunboy, said that all the bats should be relocated to the bat house habitat by the end of May.
"As a protected species, we can't actually move them. We have to wait until they all leave the ruins at dusk for food and then close off where they are roosting so they can't get back in. There are extremely intelligent, they will soon notice the new habitat which is only 300 metres from where they are currently roosting," he said. It may take three or four nights before all 100 bats leave the ruins, but Mr Kelleher is confident the relocation plan would be a complete success.
The bat house is a concrete one-storey building with a black "natural slate roof" similar to a cave, their natural habitat. It is five metres in height and 20 metres in width and the inside has been painted black. There is an upper and lower level for the bats to perch on, as well as an inside felt roof for the bats to hang from.
Data loggers have been installed on the outside to monitor the temperature and "bat detectors" will be used to monitor how many use the bat house in the coming months, added Mr Kelleher. Humans will not be allowed into the habitat.
"The location of the bat house is also far enough away from where the guests will be and is surrounded by vegetation," he added. The bat house is a much more ideal habitat than the Dunboy ruins and the bats are "only there out of necessity."
A spokesman for the developers said the discovery of the bats will not postpone the hotel's proposed opening in June 2007.