Irish tree champions

  • John Mc Loughlin

Abstract

The Irish Tree Society and the Tree Council of Ireland established the Tree Register of Ireland (TROI) in 1999. Its aim is to measure and record the “champion trees” of Ireland. Champion trees are defined as individual trees which are exceptional examples of their species because of their enormous size, great age, rarity or historical/cultural significance. To date over 14,000 champion trees have been recorded. The TROI database, which contains details of selected trees such as height, girth and location, is maintained at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. A Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to accurately record each tree’s location and to facilitate subsequent surveys. In Ireland tree measurements have been carried out since the beginning of the 20th century. The most important and one of the first was the monumental work of John Elwes and Augustine Henry, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland which was published in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913. This impressive record was republished by the Society of Irish Foresters in 2012. This article provides an update of Ireland's tree champions.
Published
2022-12-31
How to Cite
Mc Loughlin, J. (2022) “Irish tree champions”, Irish Forestry, 77(1&2), pp. 143-146. Available at: https://journal.societyofirishforesters.ie/index.php/forestry/article/view/10996 (Accessed: 28March2024).
Section
Forest Perspectives