Modern Irish forestry began in 1904 at Avondale in Co. Wicklow, the home of Charles Stewart Parnell. Many different tree species from all over the world were planted within the estate, to see which would grow the best in Irish conditions.
Ireland’s forests are different from most European forests. With only 1% of the land under forests at the beginning of the 20th century, we had to plant many new forests, and this means that most of our country’s forest resource is very young.
For a long time throughout the 20th century, trees were planted only on land that was not good enough for agriculture. Only a handful of foreign species, such as Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine, could grow well on that sort of land.
Ireland’s forests are made up of two different types of trees – native trees and introduced trees. Native trees, such as ash and oak, moved here naturally after the last Ice Age. Introduced trees are those brought to Ireland by people.
Some, such as beech, sycamore and chestnut, were introduced centuries ago and have become naturalised here. Others, such as spruce, fir and larch, were introduced more recently mainly for use in forestry, and these are called exotics.
