Local history with Monica McGill: Ash tree at St Brigid’s Well

IN DECEMBER 2022, the County Council removed a mature ash tree from the sanctuary space at St Bridget’s Well in Clondalkin.

It was the last rag tree for miles around, possibly in all of Dublin.

A flowerbed is now where the rag tree once was.

Although rag trees are more usually hawthorn trees, ours was an ash.

It was much loved by the locals who tend this sanctuary and babies’ burial ground.

The County Council said that the rag tree had fallen prey to the dreaded Ash Dieback Disease (Chalara Fraxinea, to give it its full Latin name).

There is no cure for Chalara yet, and so our rag tree had to be removed in an attempt to protect other ash trees in the district.

One of the rag wreaths at St Bridget’s Well, Clondalkin.

Chalara Fraxinea is an infection caused by a fungus carried on the breeze.

Thankfully it doesn’t affect any other trees or form of life.

It is said to have originated in China and Russia long ago, then came to Europe and was first found in Ireland in 2012 as a result of ash wood being imported here.

It has a devastating and deadly effect on ash trees.

There are reports that the disease has wiped out 90% of the ash trees in Denmark, the country in Europe suffering the most from this affliction.

The ash is one of our native, common trees, growing here since at least Druidic times when it was revered as a sacred plant.

Some still regard it as such today.

It can grow to a great height of about 130 feet (almost 40 metres) and has a wide-reaching crown giving a cosy habitat to many birds and creepy-crawlies so necessary on Mother Nature’s hierarchy of life.

Ash trees can be found growing naturally in many of our wild hedgerows and field-edges because they can thrive in a wide variety of soil types, but they settle in most easily in well-drained areas.

Like an anchor tenant in a modern shopping mall, ash trees are part of the foundation of effective hedgerows, keeping farm animals where they’re meant to be.

Ash timber is very useful.

Its attractive wood is light, strong, and flexible.

It was a key component in ship and boat-building long before other materials were discovered.

Our once wide-spread native forests of oak and ash were additional resources for a particular sea-faring nation between the 16th and 19th centuries whose imperial intentions were focused more on building enormous wooden battleships rather than sustainable forestry.

The effects of this deforestation policy on Irish people may be echoed in the 18th century Irish poem Caoine Chill Chais (Lament for Kilcash), the sad Irish refrain: “Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad?

Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár.” (“What are we to do without wood, now all the forests are gone?”)

Let’s be honest – profligate exhaustion of natural resources didn’t stop back then and continues in places today.

In modern times, ash continued to be used not only for making furniture, but also snooker cues and hurleys.

Ash pieces too small for other uses can be used as fuel for our family hearths and wood-burning stoves because it doesn’t need to be dried out for a long time beforehand.

Unfortunately, the Chalara infection travels fast and wide.

Our Government agencies, their scientists and interested groups are working hard to discover why a meagre 10% of our native ash is NOT affected by the disease.

If they can encourage these resistant trees to flourish, we may in time restore our ash tree population and prevent this plant from becoming a rarity here – and not for aesthetic or historic reasons alone.

Even today, ash trees are important to our nation’s culture, history, way of life and livelihoods.

The game of hurling has been in our native psyche since before the rules were first written in the 1800s.

The GAA’s website states that 350,000 new hurleys are needed each year.

The GAA is taking part in scientific research into ash tree survival to support the declining number of skilled people still making camáns.

Many of Ireland’s camán (hurley) makers who have traditionally used ash wood have been forced to go out of business in recent years, partly because of the scarcity of the wood and the cost of importing it.

The recent enormous growth of the game of hurling means that 50,000 trees are needed to sustain camán making here.

Apparently, the blade (bas) of a hurley can only be made from the bottom of the tree where it naturally curves to rise above ground from its roots.

That’s not many hurleys out of each tree.

Thankfully, the rest of an ash tree can be used for other good purposes.

The scarcity of ash wood here means that other timber has been examined as a substitute for it.

This includes bamboo, a particularly fast-growing plant, but so far it has not proved as flexible a material as the ash.

Camáns made of fiberglass are also available, it seems, but apparently they are not up to standard for the more dedicated player.

Presumably it would be more beneficial if an enthusiast could learn to play hurling with a traditional ash camán.

A fiberglass version may behave differently during the game and synthetic materials are not as planet-friendly as the “old-fashioned”, traditional, sustainable ash wood.

Hopefully the well-known phrase, “The clash of the ash” will not become a thing of the past.

South Dublin County Council has adopted and published its new Development Plan 2022-2028.

This important document was drawn up in line with EU and Ministerial directives and after consultation with the people living here and our County Councillors whom we have elected.

People can access the entire Plan via South Dublin County Council’s Website.

Chapter 3 of the Plan concerns our environment in all its aspects.

It’s well worth reading.

Pages 101 and 102 deal with trees and hedgerows particularly and sets out the Council’s policies and actions until 2028 and a new Development Plan.

In the meantime and the absence of our rag tree, visitors to St Bridget’s Well in Clondalkin may notice two large wreaths in the sanctuary.

They were made from local, sustainable vines and were placed in the sanctuary in time for this year’s St Bridget’s Festival.

People wishing to hang rags and ribbons at the well are asked to tie them to these wreaths in case unintentional damage is caused to the remaining bushes and trees near the Well.