AN ANCIENT Irish oak woodland habitat in Co Galway has been threatened by Electricity Supply Board (ESB) contractors engaged in power-line maintenance, it has been alleged.
The woodland on private property near Moycullen, Co Galway, includes a 250-year-old Irish oak.
Although the ESB was previously taken to court on the issue by the owners, they say the contractors engaged in recent clearing without giving advance notice.
The woodland at Pollnaglocha, Co Galway, comprises ash, hazel, hawthorn and blackthorn as well as oak, with rich ground flora including a species of woodruff that is uncommon in the west of Ireland.
ESB contractors cut back trees in the area in December 1998, resulting in a court action by the Howards and settlement in July 2005. However, contractors returned to the same area in April 2006 and in July of this year.
A report on the habitat by environmental expert Dr Cilian Roden for owners, Gia and Pat Howard, noted that a strip across the entire wood had been clear-felled, destroying many species of woodland flora, after one of the cuttings. It could take up to 20 years for the woodland canopy to redevelop and for the original ground flora to re-establish itself, he said.
Ms Howard told The Irish Times that before she and her husband bought the property a decade ago, several large branches of the 250- year-old oak had been removed to accommodate power lines. Another Irish oak of similar age had been felled. Last month, the contractors cut to "within feet" of the ancient oak, she said. The wider area of cutting would threaten the tree's viability, and the work was excessive and destructive.
A spokesman said ESB networks had a rota of timber cutting to prevent trees and branches from coming into contact with overhead electricity networks and causing power cuts.
