Booterstown Marsh Nature Reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 is located in Booterstown

Booterstown

Booterstown,, is a coastal townland and civil parish, situated in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area of the former County Dublin, about south of the city of Dublin in Ireland.-Location and access:...

, County Dublin

County Dublin

County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

 between the coastal railway line and the Rock Road. It is a salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

 with brackish water, covering an area of approximately 4.3 ha. It was fed with freshwater from Trimleston stream, and has a tidal inflow under the railway track which runs directly along the edge of Dublin Bay, forming a sea wall at Booterstown.

An Taisce

An Taisce

An Taisce , also known as the National Trust for Ireland, was established in 1948 with a similar mission to that of the National Trust in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 administer the marsh having acquired a lease to it in 1970, and have designated it a Bird Sanctuary.
Originally, the area occupied by Booterstown Marsh was part of Merrion Strand and was part of a fringe marsh from Dublin city to Blackrock.