The Brook Lamprey (loimpre shrutháin) is found in the streams and smaller rivers that feed into the River Liffey in Clane.

This unusual fish doesn’t have any jaws. As soon as they hatch, the young bury themselves in the riverbed and suck nutrients from the water. After several years they mature into adults. Adult Brook Lamprey don’t feed. They use their sucker mouth to move small stones and create a spawning area, they mate and lay their eggs, and then they fade away. Brook Lamprey are a protected species in Ireland.

Here is a video of a Brook Lamprey escaping from a White-clawed Freshwater Crayfish: