Anger at felling of woodland in South Tipp

Photo courtesy of Cyril Helnwein

Coillte has been accused of “butchering” a mature wooded area in the village of Kilsheelan.

A large number of trees – some of which were over 100 years old – have been cut down with locals claiming that no expert environmental assessment was carried out.

The woodland was located between the River Suir and the N24 Clonmel – Carrick on Suir road.

Coillte say they consulted with the forest service who indicated that the tree removal should take place.

However local resident Cyril Helnwein says the end result is not acceptable.

“You would hope that they would be experts in what they’re doing but it’s clear to see that what was done here has nothing to do with expertise.”

“This was a butchering – a brutal handling of a small problem that would have been easily solved with pollarding or just simple trimming or cleaning up of the area. That would have been absolutely lovely.”

“But what we have now is the eco side of possible land erosion. There are pine marten, red squirrels, bats, otter in that area.”