The long-running dispute over the felling of trees at Classiebawn estate, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, ended in the Circuit Court with an injunction restraining the landowner, Mr Hugh Tunney, from cutting any more trees.
The injunction was sought by Sligo County Council and involved a four-day hearing at Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court.
This followed a dispute between Mr Tunney and residents, supported by local Labour Party politicians Mr Declan Bree and Mr Brian Scanlon, over the felling of trees on the estate, which began in the summer of 2000.
There were a number of protests in Mullaghmore and on September 21st, 2000 the council served a tree preservation order on Mr Tunney. The council claimed he breached that order and sought the injunction restraining him from further doing so.
In his reserved judgment, delivered at a special sitting of Mullingar Circuit Court, Judge Bryan McMahon said the landscape and trees were public assets which were protected by legislation. A property owner's rights over his own property were in certain circumstances restricted in the interest of the common good.
"One must appreciate the nature of the woodland in question. It was unusual in the county of Sligo. It was planted over 70 years ago in poor soil and it was remarkable that the trees survived at all. The trees provided a screen and must be considered in their cultural and historical significance."
Mr Tunney claimed he was entitled to fell the trees, despite the tree preservation order, because they were in a dangerous condition. Mr Noel Foley of the Forestry Service, along with Dr Jack Durand, an expert retained by Sligo County Council, had marked some 54 trees for felling on this basis. However, over 400 trees were felled between September 29th, 2000 and January 30th, 2001, more than half the total number in the plantation.
In his judgment, Judge McMahon quoted Dr Durand's description of the result as "a wholesale clearance . . . it was no longer reasonable to describe the area as woodland". He found Mr Tunney in breach of the tree preservation order and his undertaking to the council.
He granted the council the injunction along with an order for costs.
He also said that the parties should now discuss what remedial action might be taken in relation to the trees.
Welcoming the outcome Mr Bree said: "This case is unprecedented. He had been behaving like a feudal lord, and he can't even cut a branch now."