A tree surgeon employed by Clare County Council is to examine the celebrated Latoon fairy bush to see if it could be saved after vandals chopped off all its branches at the weekend. Gordon Deegan reports.
The fairy tree, or sceach, is located on lands which are part of the €90 million Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass scheme and was saved from destruction three years ago at the start of the roadworks scheme after a campaign by noted folklorist and author, Mr Eddie Lenihan.
Mr Lenihan warned of a curse on the roadway if the fairy bush was destroyed by the road-works and related how the sceach was a rendezvous point for Kerry fairies to discuss tactics on their way to do battle with the Connacht fairies.
Expressing his "complete shock" yesterday at the attack on the tree, which is 3 km from Newmarket-on-Fergus village, Mr Lenihan described the desecration as an act of "sheer evilmindedness".
"I have no doubt whatsoever that things will follow and bad luck will happen to the person or persons who have almost destroyed the tree," he said. "They had to go to an awful lot of trouble to do this . . . It was premeditated."
The Clare County Engineer, Mr Tom Carey, yesterday described the act as "deplorable" and confirmed that the council had reported the incident to Newmarket-on-Fergus gardaí, who are investigating.
Mr Carey said: "The council deplores this wanton act of vandalism. It is very sad that it has happened. I don't know if the tree will recover and we are getting expert advice to see what can be done."
After Mr Lenihan's successful campaign to preserve the tree, which attracted worldwide coverage, the council incorporated the sceach into the scheme, which opened to traffic earlier this year.
In an effort to protect the sceach, the council erected a fence round it, while a landscape contractor was providing advice on maintenance.
Mr Lenihan said: "The person who did this is a poor twisted soul and is the type that breaks grave headstones and assaults old people. If Ireland is raising these kind of cretins, what kind of country do we have?"
However, after examining the severely damaged tree yesterday, Mr Lenihan expressed confidence it would survive.
"There is still growth at the bottom of the tree and the ironic thing is that it may be more hardy than it was before," he said.
He called on the council to erect a spotlight on the tree to prevent any further damage.