Have been to this lovely place many many times with our dogs but have not been in the last two years. Prior to then, you could have them off lead but there is a childrens play area (not far from the ruins of the old church in the park) and you would be advised to keep them on lead around this site. Also there is a lake / river area hugely populated by ducks / swans / scrounging gulls etc so best keep them on lead before they get a run at the water! Again, to agree with Liza, not sure about the camping area but unfortunately (unless others know any different) we have found that most camping areas ban dogs……… Have a lovely time with your dogs – there sure is plenty of space there, and lots of varying routes to take, including a nice little stretch by the river at the old Fairie Bridge – ours had a wonderful time there investigating all the smells, sounds, etc, and you can choose how far you walk / how long your route according to where you park your car as there’s lots of places to just hop out and park along the way.
Forgot to say – every time we were there, we noticed really harrowing posters with pics of dogs that had been lost in Lough Key so make sure that you’ve good recall and try to keep yours in sight as much as you can. When it gets dark, it gets quite dark quite quickly due to all the shelter from the trees and shrubs which are quite wild in areas and if you lose sight of your dog, its a huge expanse to cover in trying to find them. Just thought it was worth mentioning…….