Meetings with remarkable trees

Do you know an interesting tree with a story to tell? Then Aubrey Fennell and Kate Crane want to hear from you

THERE’S a story about a particular larch growing in Moone in Co Kildare.

Although almost two centuries old, it is only 4.5 metres high. It is, however, 21 metres wide – squashed by the weight of turkeys who used to roost in it.

Aubrey Fennell could talk for hours about the “turkey tree” and many others like it, as he traverses the countryside on a “treasure hunt”. Working with consultant Kate Crane, he is compiling the first ever official list of “heritage trees” on this island.

As Fennell and Crane explain, heritage trees can be defined as trees of biological, cultural, ecological or historical interest because of age, size and condition. Crann and the Tree Council of Ireland are supporting the project as a natural extension of the tree register of Ireland, which Fennell, from Co Carlow, has been instrumental in recording.

They have a broad remit. Obviously, the Silken Thomas yew at NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare, and a tree at King’s Inns, Dublin, “hungry tree” – a London plane devouring a bench – are some obvious and well-known examples, as are some of the island’s oldest trees recently profiled by Geoff Power in this newspaper.

There is Lady Gregory’s autograph tree, the copper beech that was signed by WB Yeats, his brother, Jack, George Bernard Shaw, John Masefield, Sean O’Casey and others at Coole Park, south Galway. And the yew at Muckross friary, Killarney, Co Kerry, which was recorded in the Dublin Penny Journal in 1833, is regarded as one of the most famous of all.

“Many trees already on the register will be included, but we are also focusing on trees of any era with a significant story or a historical connection – and so far we have heard some quite incredible tales,” says Crane.

For instance, a plantation of lime trees laid in Co Meath around 1780 by Thomas Bligh, brother of vice admiral William Bligh of HMS Bounty, represents particular battles between the French and the English decades before. Gavin Minifie and Neville Jessop, owners of Brittas Estate near the village of Nobber, have 18th-century maps showing how the trees were originally planted in military formation.

Then there’s a yew avenue in Redhills, Co Cavan, which is known as the “ghost walk”, Crane says.

She recalls how they were recently provided with photos of a horse chestnut in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, which was almost killed off a half century ago when efforts were made to remove it.

“A local man saw what was happening, stopped the work, gathered enough money to pay for it to be pushed back up, and someone took photos. The same man also kept a letter from the county manager at the time, who said that it had been examined by his staff but they didn’t think it was going to last. It is still alive.”

Legislation is in place to protect trees of particular value, but such tree preservation orders are “in practice very ineffectual”, both Crane and Fennell agree. “We’ve seen it during the boom years, where trees were removed before anything could be done. And heritage officers are always very busy and can’t be everywhere.”

Thus the aim of the heritage list is to take a holistic approach by raising sufficient awareness, and also to provide a database for further legislation. After all, such trees are often all that remains of some of our most historic landscape.

Intensive agriculture, housing development and commercial forestry has resulted in much misguided destruction. Coillte, the semi-state forestry organisation, planted sitka around the Pumpkin Tree in Mote Park,

Co Roscommon, and it subsequently died. Although lifeless, it has been colonised by mountain ash and other growth, says Fennell.

Another tree which might have seemed “unremarkable” at first glance is a laburnum in Colebrooke estate, Co Fermanagh, which is host to colonies of wild flowers in spring. The tree was felled some years ago, but a closer examination by the tree register of the British Isles confirmed that it was alive, albeit almost horizontal. It is believed to be the fourth-largest laburnum on the island.

Crane and Fennell are also interested in hearing about rag trees, hanging trees, fairy trees, military trees and trees that are otherwise considered to be very important to the community.

Rag trees tend to be those attracting prayers in the form of tiny pieces of cloth near holy wells.

Hanging trees need no explanation. “Many sheep rustlers lost their lives, suspended from their branches,” says Fennell.

The researchers aim to disseminate their information to planning authorities in each county, to ensure that planning decisions take account of such trees and their immediate environment. They also aim to feed the information into the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

“There tends to be a perception that we’ve lost so much of value, but our research has been very positive and we want to protect what decent woodland we have left,” Crane says.

“The public can help us with this,” she says. “Specifically, we need information on location, a grid reference if possible, ownership details, the common name of the species, any relevant photographs, and a brief explanation as to why the person thinks this particular tree should be considered for inclusion.”

To get in touch with tree information and locations, go to www.treecouncil.ie and click on “tree hunt” or e-mail cranoggin@eircom.net.