75 trees felled in park is an ‘attack on the community’

THE illegal felling of 75 trees – which appeared to have been sawn in half – and the uprooting of saplings in Dodder Valley Park is an “attack on the community”, according to the Mayor of South Dublin  County.

The incident occurred overnight last Friday to the shock and disappointment of local residents, and the damaged trees and saplings are believed to have cost in the region of €30,000.

The trees damaged were primarily mature cherry blossoms, and it is believed that a battery-powered electric saw was used to fell the trees.

Mayor Alan Edge told The Echo on Tuesday morning: “It’s just very sad, very shocking and very bizarre.

“I think the whole community is feeling it, there’s a real sense of sadness about it, more than anything.

“I went down to the park on Sunday and if there is a positive slant, which is hard to find, it’s that everybody in the park stopped and were talking and sympathising with each other about it.

“It’s a positive that the trees do mean so much to people and I think that’s down to the work the council has been doing, and also Stepping Stone Forests and Active Travel.”

Calls have been made for CCTV to be installed to protect the trees and the park from any future incidents.

Mayor Edge said the installation of CCTV cameras to protect trees would be impractical, and noted the lengths that the culprit or culprits went to when they cut down the trees.

“I think if you’re in a situation where you have to install CCTV to protect trees, it would be a very sad day,” he said.

One of the trees cut down by a battery-powered electric saw

“There are over 8,000 public trees in South Dublin County – how do you protect them all with CCTV?

“There are also a host of issues about how and where a local authority can use CCTV.

“To use CCTV in a wood or a park to protect trees – which trees do you choose to protect? You can’t do that.

“Even if it were legal, it’s not practical. It’s not an area that would even be covered by CCTV, it’s in the middle of a park.

“Nobody would factor in that someone would come into the park late at night and chop down the trees with a chainsaw.

“This is someone who presumably charged up an electric saw, went into the park in darkness and cut down the trees, and they couldn’t have done that in minutes – it was probably hours.

“It’s an attack on the community, to take away something that everyone enjoys.”

South Dublin County Council intends to replace the damaged trees and saplings, while the act of vandalism is now the subject of a garda investigation.

“The gardaí are investigating this, and they’re investigating it thoroughly,” added Mayor Edge.

“If anyone saw something in the park, or they were in the park late at night on Friday and saw if the trees were damaged or not, that could help the guards to narrow down when it happened.”

A garda spokesperson said: “The council is evaluating the scale of the damage, and the incident is under investigation by An Garda Síochána.

“We urge members of the public to come forward with any information they may have regarding this incident and to report such information to the gardai.

“Once a comprehensive assessment of the damage has been completed, we will issue a further statement detailing our response and plans for restoration.”