by Ronan Casey
A Westmeath farmer was so moved by the tragic death of a young Ballymore woman, killed after a roadside tree fell on her car on the Ballymahon Road last year, that this week he removed over a dozen trees along the same road in the hope an accident like that won’t happen again.
On December 18 2013, 23-year-old care worker Aisling Maguire passed away from injuries sustained after an ash tree fell on her car on the outskirts of Mullingar at Grange South. It later emerged and was stated at her inquest that local residents in Grange had contacted the Council three years earlier to express their concerns about the tree.
Her parents, Gerry and Geraldine Maguire, have since launched a campaign urging landowners along roads to check their trees and if any are dangerous looking, have them checked out, or removed.
“We’re asking landowners to have a look at your trees. If they are covered in ivy, cut it off them or get them checked,” Gerry said last week.
Spurred on by the Maguire family campaign, Glascorn, Rathconrath farmer John Gaynor inspected all his trees which run alongside the R392 Mullingar – Ballymahon Road.
Acting on his own freewill and as a gesture of goodwill, he decided to fell the majority of roadside trees rather than wait for an official notice or, in the worst case, a storm to fell one of them.
He contracted a local tree surgeon to remove the trees, which lined the R392 just outside the village of Rathconrath. The trees were something of a local landmark as you approached and left the village, a deep ridge of beech to the rear of a hilltop house followed a mixture of other species to the front of the house.
The surgeon found that a line of nine beech trees, each one over 250 years old, contained two trees in a dangerous position which, in a severe storm, could have toppled over onto the road. One was a large beech split into two. With a low lying root structure one of the two arms would eventually have to give way, so it was better to remove the entire tree.
When the ivy was removed from another, it was found that the beech was dying, with one side almost completely dead, the wood inside light and certainly unable to support the heavy, healthy side. Others alongside were more healthy, but large overhanging branches could fall.
John was happy to fell them all.
“The Maguire family campaign to remove dangerous trees was what made me think again and consider having these removed,” John told Topic as chainsaws buzzed behind him, felling the trees in seconds. “I want to extend my sympathy to the Maguires and hope other farmers will do the same by taking action. I would not like to see a family suffer a bereavement like they did especially when something can be done about trees which are a danger.”
As the huge beech trees fell, you could not help but be moved by the spectacle. They fall in the space of time to flick a lightswitch, 250 years of history gone. “Ach, it’s regrettable to see them go alright, but due to the danger they pose, it’s better to see them removed,” John mused as one by one, the mighty trees crashed to the ground.
John noted with a touch of irony that these giants were planted long before four wheels. The R392 is one of Westmeath’s busiest and most dangerous roads. Almost completely straight, it is packed with heavy goods and ‘regular’ traffic.
“It’s hard to imagine this road with a horse and cart, but when these trees were planted, cars, trucks and vans weren’t even invented. These were only lanes.”
The tree surgeon performing the operation to remove the nine beech and a half dozen ash and evergreens, has been working on the R392 for some weeks now. He told Topic that in most cases, it was for landowners who were acting on notification from the authorities to remove trees. He said it was not often you came across a farmer like John, acting of his own freewill to ensure the safety of road users.
Mr Gaynor had previously been asked by the Council to remove a tree on a different stretch of road alongside his family farm, which he was glad to do. He wants other farmers to take a leaf from his book and inspect every roadside tree.
“If in doubt, cut it out,” he said. “It takes less than a second for these to fall. I don’t think any farmer could live with himself if one fell on a vehicle.”
