A journey through trees, of Ireland and the world

Tony Gahan, Nessa Dunlea, and Dr George Cunningham, at last night's talk.

"We have a very bad tradition in Ireland of not allowing large trees to grow in our towns. Someone will think they're dangerous and we cut them down."

The cutting down of the Big Tree in Kilcullen came to my mind last night with that comment during the very fascinating talk by George Cunningham of Crann in the Town Hall, writes Brian Byrne.

For those who don't remember, the old tree stood sentry at where the entrance to Conroy Park is now, and had done so for probably 200 years. The Council deemed it in the way, and eliminated it before beginning construction of the estate in 1974.

This was not the case with the banyan tree in Lahaina, Hawaii, which he showed as part of last night's talk under the auspices of Kilcullen 700. The tree was planted in 1873 to mark the arrival of the first American Protestant mission, and now spreads over almost two acres.

That was just one element of a wide-ranging hour during which Dr Cunningham took the small but very appreciative audience through history and places all around the world to see the place of trees in our lives.

And before them. He provided pictures of his trip to the Bristlecone Pine Forest in the Californian High Sierras, one tree of which has been dated to be 5,000 years old.

"That was when we were still using stone axes in Ireland," he noted, adding that the precise location of that tree, named Methuselah, has not been divulged so it won't be targeted by tourists.

There were other fascinating trees facts, many close to home. Such as the largest Redwood forest outside the United States, which has been planted in Birr by the Earl of Ross. And the 31st wonder of the world, officially the little churchyard at Monaincha in Gurteen, Co Tipperary, which has some beautiful beeches around the ruins of the Romanesque church. "But you rarely see anyone there, he added, "except Americans and Europeans who seem to know about it."

His photographs of that particular site taken at different seasons were a lovely record of how a place can be so different during the various phases of any year.

Dr Cunningham, who also brought us briefly through some of the 20,000-plus books he has in his home, on trees and heritage, was in Kilcullen at the invitation of Tony and Geraldine Gahan.

"We subscribe to the Crann magazine, and I won a prize of some books," Tony told the Diary last night. "But I already had the books, so he said he'd come and give a talk instead."

Which meant all of us there got the chance to share, briefly, in what Kilcullen 700 chairperson Nessa Dunlea called a 'great passion'.

Pity that passion wasn't around when the Big Tree was unceremoniously felled 45 years ago.

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