Trees and forestry played both practical and spiritual roles in the lives of Irish people throughout the centuries. Ireland was a land of trees in the time of Saint Patrick.
Today Ireland is home to some beautiful woods and forestry, but the number of trees pales in comparison to the vast numbers of living trees on the island before the 17th century.
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Conservation Projects
Emerald Heritage, a conservation business I previously reviewed, sent me this beautiful Irish tree planting image. I was struck by this little piece of information in their recent press release.
"Ireland was once a forest culture, but following the development of agriculture practices, since the 1600's, the proportion of Irish woodland has now reached an all time low. Unfortunately, Ireland has been almost completely deforested with merely 1% of native woodland left."
My interest was piqued. I simply had to investigate this topic further. And so, I started thinking about what Ireland's landscape at the time of St. Patrick. I soon discovered it was an island covered in trees ......
History Of Trees In Ireland
The last Ice Age completely denuded Ireland of all trees and plant life, but thankfully the glaciers melted nearly 15,000 years ago.
The island warmed up over the next 4000 years making it suitable for pioneering plants to colonize its plains and mountains. Spreading by way of land bridges from Britain, herbs, shrubs and low lying grasses sprouted.
Dwarf tree species like birch and hazel arrived next, before stately oaks and elms.
Arrival Of Our Ancestors
By the time our forebears arrived 9000 years ago, Ireland was blanketed in trees. Initially these hunter gatherers had little impact on the beautiful oak woods and pine forests.
However, according to the Irish Department of Agriculture the forests started to slowly disappear around 6,000 years ago. The growth of blanket bogs combined with forest clearance by early Neolithic farmers may have promoted deforestation.
By the time St. Patrick arrived in the 5th century the density of native trees was dwindling. In the early centuries of the first millennium some tree species such as elm had drastically declined, probably related to disease.
It wasn't until the 1600's that a wholesale clearing of land occurred with a series of Plantations. Ship building flourished and the increasing population created a demand for fresh timber. Our forests and woods were sacrificed in the name of progress.
Trees As Landmarks
Many place names in Ireland are derived from the names of trees. Derry or Doire is named after an oak grove, and Kildare or Cill-dara is the Church of the Oak.
Sacred trees were planted to mark the locations of holy wells and churches.
Oak trees surrounded and were used to build crannógs, artificial islands built in lakes or marshes.
The druids often performed cultural ceremonies at the base of a tree or in a woodland copse.
I wonder if St. Patrick and other early Irish Christians recognized the importance of trees to the native Celts of Ireland. Perhaps this is why they built so many churches and named many holy places after trees.
Monument Trees
Trees were sacred to the ancient Celts. Many grew and tended a Monument Tree close to their home.
Warring clans often attached each others Monument Trees, rather than their fortresses. I suppose it was a case of attacking a man's pride, because the ancient Celts revered and worshipped these trees.
Brehon Laws
Brehon Law ruled the land of Ireland in pre-Christian times. Brehons (judges) or druids laid down and enforced the law.
Irish Brehon law may well be the oldest known example of a sophisticated legal system in all of Europe.
And believe it or not, these Brehons demonstrated a "green" conservationist's outlook on life. Today they might be called tree huggers, because it looks like they revered trees.
Under Brehon laws certain trees and shrubs were protected. Woe betide anyone who unlawfully cut a branch, or damaged a bark of one of these trees.
Strict penalties were imposed because of the importance of these trees to the community. The brehons were way ahead of their time.
Educational Role
Tree groves were often used as educational settings in the time of the druids and ancient Celts.
In more recent times, when education of Catholics was outlawed by the English, hedge school masters taught Irish children in the open air, shaded and protected by trees. Hence the name hedgerow or hedge schools.
Ogham
The ancient Irish alphabet is a series of lines, originally cut into wood or standing stones. The names of Ogham letters are associated with trees.
Eight of the original ogham letters were named after trees -birch, alder, willow, oak, hazel, pine, ash and yew.
This list of trees highlights the species that were of most importance in early Irish society.
Trees In Irish Myth And Legend
Irish myths and legends abound with references to trees. Certain species were particularly well understood and valued by the people.
Eo Mugna was one of five legendary trees of Ireland. Eo Mugna was an oak which bore apples, acorns and hazelnuts. Ancient Irish legends claim it to be a son of the Tree of Knowledge, found in the Garden of Eden. It supposedly bit the dust and fell sometime before 600 AD.
Ash is a native Irish tree and has a special place in Irish folklore. It is the wood of preference for making hurling sticks, the game being fondly referred to as "the clash of the ash".
Three of the five legendary trees of ancient Ireland were ash trees: Bile Tortan, Craeb Daithi and Bile Uisneg. Bile Tortan in County Meath was supposedly visited by St. Patrick himself, who established a church nearby.
Nine Hazels of Wisdom grew at the source of the River Boyne. In ancient Ireland the Tree of Knowledge was believed to be a hazel tree. Under the Brehon laws of the neighborhood hazel was granted the highest rank, considered to be a 'nobel of the wood'.
Howth Castle, just north of Dublin city and home of the St. Lawrence family, is home to a large oak tree. Wooden uprights support the branches, because it has been said that when the tree falls the family's line will come to an end.
Fairy Trees
Hawthorn trees have long been considered the property of the faries. A lone hawthorn tree is never cut for fear of the faeries.
Legend claims a lone hawthorn is the site where the fairies meet and dance.
Many roads wind around these fairy trees, because in the past it was deemed far safer to divert a road than to cut down a magical tree.
Emerald Heritage
A Quick Note and Legal Disclaimer: If you choose to utilize the discount code listed below I will earn a commission for your land purchase. If you have any questions you can contact me or leave a comment, and I’ll do my very best to reply.
Emerald Heritage is working to conserve a Irish woodlands, by selling small plots of land to people world wide who wish to own their very own piece of Ireland.
In September 2015 they are organizing a 5-day gathering of land owners from around the world and inviting them to come find their plot and plant a native Irish tree.
A wonderful itinerary has been planned including visits to the Titanic museum, the Game of Thrones film locations, the Giant's Causeway and the Bushmills Distillery to name but a few.
All the details are outlined on their web page dedicated to their Irish Gathering.
Don't forget to use the code Irish American Mom for a discount on any land purchases with Emerald Heritage.
References
The Native Woodland Trust provides a wonderful illustrated list of Ireland's native trees.
The Living Tree Educational Foundation explores the significance of trees in Irish culture.
Forestry Focus is chock full of information, analysis, history and legends about Irish trees, woodlands and forestry.
And there you have it, a quick review of the history of Irish trees. But to tell you the truth we've only scratched the surface or the bark of this topic.
I have gleaned plenty of ideas for future posts as I put this little story together. How about Irish sayings about trees, Irish superstitions, cures and old wives' tales ...... But as I often say, that's a story for another day.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
Here are some other recipes and ramblings you might enjoy...
Where To Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day In Ireland
What The Irish Eat For Saint Patrick's Day
Fruit Rainbow for Saint Patrick's Day
Ray Brown
Dear Mairead,
My friend from Dublin told me that Ireland was a land of trees and the Brits took them to build London and London had a fire and all the beautiful Irish trees that made the city of London burned down when London had a great fire over atleast a century ago. I have never looked into this, but without trees, it would be harder to fight the Brits , so it maybe true. I will read this article to see if it might be mentioned.
Irish American Mom
Ray - I had not heard this story about Irish wood being used to build London, but it sounds pretty likely that Irish forests were felled to support construction across the Irish Sea. Widespread clearing of land really took off in the 1600's.
Hope you have a lovely St. Patrick's Day.
Mairéad
Greekish
Ray Brown... I beg to differ...Nonsense. I am From Greece and ALL the mountains where I lived were completely deforested till the 1970s.. Wood was the only material used for fuel roofing and furniture .. Every Tree had been cut down and the only fuel left was annual shrubs. I have photographs for the mountains from the 40s 50s and 60s.. Completely barren. What humans didn't cut down for fuel, the huge goat herds destroyed. Now The government has gone completely the opposite direction and the entire county is one thick forest that only wildfires can freely walk through on occasion. Not only that.. The ecologists are bringing back species from the Balkans to populate the forests. There are animals there that I had never seen as a child because they had been hunted to extinction centuries ago. If Ireland wants its forests back they need to make an effort to sacrifice private or government land and turn it into forests. Then introduce ancient wildlife back into Ireland. Fuel is the biggest reason all the trees were cut down. I bet if you can find old photographs of Ireland back in the 1800s or early 1900s you will see that where there might be trees now..there were no trees then.. If you didn't cut wood you simply perished. Survival was the name of the game.
Irish American Mom
Thanks so much for sharing the Greek reforestation experience. Firewood was often the difference between life and death for our ancestors.
Take care,
Mairéad
Kevin Larkin
Hello Greekish.
Your argument is incorrect and comparing Greek habits to Irish cannot be an argument in your conclusion, Firstly how rude to dismiss Máiréad's mail as nonsense when it is factually true. Firstly, the Irish built their dwellings from stone, mainly limestone of which ample alluvial deposits were left exposed following the last Ice Age 10.000 years ago. Secondly, with the amount of rainfall we have, lowlands and valleys have plenty of Bogland which the peat has been cut and dried for thousands of years as a source of fuel. The practice still goes on to this day. Thirdly, the forests were mainly removed during the English Plantation (removing Irish and placing English owners on the land). Same was done to the native Americans. This gave a new source of wood to the English market, cleared areas for farming and reduced the strongholds of the Irish clans. During Henry 8's Reign, England was almost out of Oaks etc, so much so he instigated the planting of new forests in England while stripping Ireland of it's Forests. His daughter, Elizabeth 1st and subsequent monarchs continued the practice. My county of birth is Mayo in the west of Ireland, An angelified version of the Gaelic "Maigh Eo" meaning "Vale of the Yew". There is very few of the long lived native Yew's left except what has been planted in the gardens of English Castles and Manors this past 200 years. And my fourth and final point, An Irishman, being catholic, was not allowed to own anything and could only have any livestock if the English master allowed it, and could take any of his possessions when he felt like it. You could not own land but were banished to the worst areas to work the poor land for extortionate rents while crops were grown and livestock fattened on the best land for English markets. 150 years ago, over 1 million Irish people died in the great famine while the Irish harvests and livestock were being shipped to England. Prior to the Plantation, Deer and Fowl were the main meats in Ireland with fish in abundance and all farmed with guidance mainly from the monks and priests. Pigs and hogs were introduced by the early English and large herds of goats? I don't think so, maybe this last 20 years.
Its all quite well documented if you care to check it out, its not nonsense.
Irish American Mom
Hi Kevin - thank you for your insights into Irish history and the complicated fate of our forests over the centuries. I really appreciate this additional information, and how you outline Ireland's unique experience.
All the best,
Mairéad
Eugenie Smith
It reminds me of the use of Agent Orange by the Americans in Viet Nam.. a world and many centuries away, but in truth, tree cover protect native people from invaders... so the invaders destroy the trees. It is the saddest story. Ireland's trees. It was while reading James Joyce Ulysses, I found a whole segment on the devastation of ireland's forests, which piqued my curiosity to go looking into the history.
Irish American Mom
The story of Ireland's forests is a sad one, like much of Ireland's history. Your comparison to the Vietnam era is very interesting.
Thanks for stopping by,
All the best,
Mairéad
Ray Brown, M.A.
First I want to wish you and your family a very happy New Year and thank you for all your wonderful articles Mairéad. I also researched this. Richard O'Hanlon, a forest ecologist and mycologist from Ireland, who is now an International Fellow at the World Forest Institute in Portland, Oregon discusses this. Now only 10% of Ireland is under forest covered and the non-native tree species "Sitka Spruce" now composes more than half of the forest stock. Deforestation of Ireland's landscape started in 1390, as land was cleared for agriculture and grazing. By 1690 it is estimated that only 12% of the country was forested. He goes on to say that by this time, English forests were close to exhaustion and Irish woods were seen as a cheap source of fuel for English industries. The Irish wood was exported back to England for heat. Also the Irish wood of oak and beech forests were used for the building to ships and barrel-making and the oak was used for tanning leather. He goes on to say a "bonus for the English settlers of removing forest cover to reduce the hiding places of the Irish rebels. There is so much more that the English did that I can't explain it all here, but my Dublin friend, which I wrote above, does not seem to be wrong in what he told me. There are also other articles I read and one is "Forestry Focus" that gives a history of the blemishes the Brits did to Mother Ireland. In the latter article the talk about 1171 when the Normans used are wood to build Dublin Castle with the arrival of Henry the Second, and the destruction of our forests for English roads and bridges, as well as English houses, among the wattling, the name "Baile átha Clianth" (The Ford of the Wattles") implies.
I enjoy your articles so much and I know I have not been participating as before as I am on Republican posts at this point a lot. With the elections coming the people may think I am talking about Republicans vs Democrats and that is just fine with me whatever they may think on this issue. God Bless to you and your entire family.
Irish American Mom
Hi Ray - Thanks for stopping by and checking out this post about Irish forests, and for adding to the historical background. Ireland is suffering from severe flooding these past few weeks, and unfortunately deforestation is a big contributing factor.
You have a busy year ahead of you working for the elections. The wonderful thing about democracy is that we are all free to choose whom we wish to support. So forget the nay sayers - you are exercising your democratic right by your work.
All the best for 2016,
Mairéad
Ray Brown
Thank you Mairéad for your kind words and I wish you the very best. Yes, unfortunately, I have been reading about the flooding in Ireland and it has a lot to do with the diminished trees. I only hope and pray that the floods do not cause anymore of the damage I have been seeing. We only had two days of rain, with the 4 years of drought in California and I hope we get a lot more, but not the rain that Texas has after all the years of dryness they have had. It is very cold here too now, but nothing like Ireland, thank God. I wish you and your family the very best for 2016. God Bless.
Irish American Mom
Weather patterns sure have been strange in recent years, but Ireland continues to get more than her fair share of rain. Let's hope California gets some of that rain in 2016.
All the best,
Mairéad
Ray Brown
Thank you Mairéad. Yes weather patterns have been strange. Thank you about thinking of California. God Bless.
Caol Wiesen
what is the old saying about the fairy's fortress ? Is it , Beware the fairy's fortress , or is it Take good care of the fairy's fortress. Thank you.
Irish American Mom
Hi Carl - I have heard "beware the fairy path" but I'm sure this could have been applied to fairy fortresses in some regions. Fairy paths are believed to run in straight lines between fairy fortresses and building a house across a fairy path was a big concern in days gone by.
All the best,
Mairéad
Geoffrey Harris
Alright. I have read this and have been aware of it for awhile. The English were the primary deforesters as they cut down the woods to build ships to sail to America and to consolidate and maintain their conquest.Incidentally, Also, know about the sacredness of the fairy trees and visited the oldest tree in Britain, the 4000?-year-old yew in Scotland. I too was born in Ca (in Sacramento). My dad is mostly Scotts rather than Irish and my mother's side of the family is Russian Ashkanazi Jewish.
Irish American Mom
Hi Geoffrey - I'm o glad this piece confirmed many of the facts about trees in Ireland which you had previously learned. Fairy trees always intrigue me. Our folklore and myths are bound together with our superstitions to this very day.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Jean mahan
Would like information on foods ad herbs grown, eaten in Ireland in early days
Irish American Mom
Hi Jean - Thanks for letting me know about your interest in this topic. In Celtic times and when Brehon Law was adhered to in Ireland many people tried to eat as many white foods as possible. This was called Bán Bia or white food. I will research this topic some more and share my findings here on my blog in the future.
All the best,
Mairéad
Paul Heckbert
It's not "my interest was peaked", but rather "my interest was piqued".
Irish American Mom
Hi Paul - Thank you so much for spotting that typo and letting me know about it. Sometimes I rely on auto correct too much, and inevitably I publish grammatical errors. I really appreciate you taking the time to point this one out. I've corrected the spelling in the text.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Irish American Mom
Thanks for linking to my article in your wonderful post.
All the best,
Mairéad