Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented devastation in Northern Ireland with winds exceeding 90mph on January 24th. The Forest Service Northern Ireland reported that hundreds of hectares of forestry were destroyed, resulting in tens of thousands of trees being damaged in forests and parks. This led to the suspension of scheduled felling in order to address the aftermath of the storm.
John Joe O’Boyle, the chief executive of Forest Service Northern Ireland, expressed shock at the scale of destruction, stating that the impact was one of the biggest he had ever seen in his 40 years of working among the trees. The storm’s impact was equivalent to the loss of over a year’s worth of timber production from the forests in just a few hours. The Woodland Trust also emphasized the irreplaceable nature of some of the fallen trees, calling it a loss akin to losing a cathedral.
The clean-up operation post-storm is expected to cost millions of pounds, with the National Trust already spending more than £300,000 to make its properties safe for visitors. Gregor Fulton, the tree advisor for the National Trust in Northern Ireland, witnessed the devastating effects of the storm at Rowallane Gardens in County Down. The aftermath of Storm Éowyn may have altered the gardens permanently, with the loss of rare specimens collected by the original owner, Reverend John Moore.
Despite the widespread damage, there is a silver lining as John Joe O’Boyle suggests that the catastrophe could accelerate the opportunity to redesign forests with a greater diversity of tree species. However, in terms of wood availability and pricing, Mr. O’Boyle stated that there wouldn’t be an abundance of cheap wood in the market due to adjustments in the harvesting schedules caused by the emergency felling prompted by the storm. The usual amount of timber flow into the markets is expected to remain consistent, albeit from different sources and forests
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