We all know that St Patrick banished snakes from Ireland but many people are unaware that he missed the lizard, which is alive and well and living in most parts of the country.
The most serious attempt to date to find out just how many Irish lizards there actually are is being undertaken by the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT), with help from the Heritage Council.
According to Mr Billy Flynn of IWT, there were only 230 records of the Irish lizard (lacerta vivipara) when the last survey was published in 2002.
In that survey, carried out in the mid 1990s, the bulk of the sightings came from Cos Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow, places where people had holiday homes and were looking for the reptile.
A total of 16 per cent of the sightings reported in the survey were from gardens during sunshine, when the lizards like to sunbathe.
Mr Flynn has been attempting to teach Irish people how to spot these shy creatures, which can grow to four inches long and move very quickly when disturbed.
Lizard hunters, he said, should tread lightly and keep an eye on rocks, stone walls, logs and areas exposed to direct sunlight.
The best times to spot lizards are between 8.30 a.m and 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
He said the Irish lizard was most commonly found in warm, dry conditions, in upland bogs and heaths, and he asked those taking part to give special attention to the habitat in which they spot the lizards.
"The last survey has a report of one living in a bedroom in a house in Mayo, but they live in many gardens and eat flies," he said.
He said lizards have a number of peculiarities, including the ability to play dead if caught, and to shed their tails if a predator catches them by that part of their body.
"If caught, they can literally go rigid and play dead, and if you leave them alone for about 20 minutes, they suddenly come alive again and disappear very quickly. My hope is that no one will try and catch them," he said.
Anyone interested in taking part in the survey can email lizards@iwt.ie or billy@iwt.ie