Merlin Woods efforts to stop tree clearfelling failed over major problem

‘This has been transparently shared with the Council without acknowledgment’

Published 25th Sep 2026, 11:08 BST Friends of Merlin Woods | Local ‘This has been transparently shared with the Council without acknowledgment’ A last-gasp effort to prevent Galway City Council from clearfelling three and a half acres of Merlin Woods appears to have floundered – because the National Parks and Wildlife Service says it has no responsibility for the site or its management with the wildlife body asked to investigate the matter further.

Friends of Merlin Woods has contacted the State wildlife body as work proceeds to remove approximately 3.5 hectares of mature Norway spruce from the north woods.

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“Galway City Council has been reported to the National Parks and Wildlife Service for investigation,” the group said in its latest update.

“This has been transparently shared with the Council without acknowledgment.”

The NPWS is responsible for enforcing wildlife and nature conservation legislation and can investigate suspected breaches of wildlife law.

Concerns about the clearfelling extend beyond Merlin Woods’ red squirrel population, with the woodland providing habitat for birds, bats and other wildlife.

In response, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that the NPWS does not have any statutory responsibilities in relation to the management of Merlin Woods.

In a statement to the Galway City Tribune , a spokesperson said that Merlin Woods is not a designated Natura site and is not a statutorily protected site under the Wildlife Act.

It is not under the ownership of the NPWS and “accordingly the NPWS does not have any statutory responsibilities in relation to its management”.

“NPWS continues to be open to working with stakeholders to protect biodiversity in the area,” said the spokesperson.

“NPWS encourages landowners and contractors to carefully assess trees and surrounding vegetation for nesting birds, bat roosts and other protected wildlife before undertaking any tree works, and to schedule non-essential works outside the bird nesting season wherever possible.”

Meanwhile, Galway City Council said that “the Council have not been contacted by the NPWS in relation to this” when contacted about the issue.

Friends of Merlin Woods accepts that storm-damaged trees need to be removed and that some areas must be felled for public safety, but has questioned the extent of the clearfelling.

“Friends of Merlin Woods has always recognised, agreed and encouraged that storm damaged trees do need to be removed,” the statement continued.

“The local community wants paths cleared. Certain areas unfortunately need to be felled for public safety reasons. This is without question.

“However, extensive and unnecessary clearfelling falls far below the standard expected of a public body.”

Galway City Council’s decision to clear the 3.5-hectare section follows a tree condition survey commissioned after extensive damage to Merlin Woods during Storm Éowyn .

The survey, carried out by arborist Drew Bardell on July 7, 2026, examined a mature stand of Norway spruce, with trees approximately 20 to 25 metres tall.

Mr Bardell’s survey found significant storm damage within the area, including partially windblown trees leaning towards paths and sections where fallen trees had made routes impassable.

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He warned that removing individual unstable trees would further increase the wind load on those left standing.

“The removal of further unstable windblown trees within the 3.5 hectares will contribute to an increase in wind load to any trees that are retained, increasing the risk of further tree failure in future years,” he said.

Mr Bardell recommended harvesting the entire 3.5 hectares and replanting it with native broadleaf species.

“This is a considered approach considering the topography of the site, the geology, the location in proximity to the western seaboard and tree species characteristics,” he said.

He also described the storm damage as an opportunity for the council and other stakeholders “to create a new larger area of native broadleaf woodland within the north wood”.

The report said the new woodland could eventually provide “thicker denser habitat for wildlife”.

The Norway spruce at the centre of the dispute were planted by the State Forestry Department in the 1960s as a commercial forestry crop.

The land came into the ownership of Galway City Council in the 1980s and was subsequently managed as a public park.

At a recent media briefing, council officials said the trees had not undergone the thinning that would ordinarily have taken place in a commercially managed woodland.

“The trees are tall and thin,” said Director of Services Patrick Greene.

“They are susceptible to damage from high winds. The woodland canopy in that area has been permanently damaged and fractured. They are super tall, super dense and they haven't been thinned out. After 20 years, you go in and thin it. But since it became a public park it was never harvested.

“It was no longer treated as a commercial woodland. From 1960 it should have been thinned out. Our role is to provide for public amenities and for nature. The type of management practices would be very different today.

“It came under our boundary as a commercial woodland and that is not our role. It is nobody's fault.”

However, Caroline Stanley of Friends of Merlin Woods said that no records exist as to whether the woodland was thinned or not.

Speaking outside a protest held at City Hall, she said that the woodland “would have been under the county” remit and that “no one has investigated whether they were thinned”.

“Our own forest expert came in and said they are perfectly safe where they are,” she said.

“They could have just taken out the fallen trees, they have used the standing trees to pay for the work.”

According to Galway City Council’s July Monthly Management Report, EuroForest Timber Ireland Ltd had been appointed as the main contractor for the “removal of fallen trees in Merlin Woods”.

In the same report, Mr Greene said “there is now an opportunity to restore the forest as a native woodland for future generations and for wildlife”.

At the media briefing, council officials said standing trees which had been cut down were “in a worse condition than we thought”, with butt rot found in some of them.

Caroline Stanley said the presence of butt rot did not mean all of the trees were affected.

“Some trees might have butt rot but that is not true of all of the trees,” she said.

“They wouldn't be living and growing and having pine cones. They are a canopy cover for many different species within there. They are a canopy cover for the squirrels.

“We already told them Dr Roberts’ report, who knows the red squirrels of Merlin Woods, because she has researched them – that the majority of those squirrels are using those conifer canopies as cover.”

At a protest outside City Hall organised by Friends of Merlin Woods, Aidan Berry from Rahoon described Merlin Park as “sacrosanct”.

“It is great to be here amongst the cream of people, ordinary people who are coming out of their homes to stand here and ask for a bit of democracy and ask to be heard.

“Who is promoting this thing in Merlin Park? Who is to gain from it and where are our councillors?”

He called on Galway city councillors to “stand up and say I am for this and I am with you”.

“They must come along. It is urgent that there is a stop put to knocking the trees in Merlin. It is too serious. We can talk about health and safety afterwards. We need to help our little animals and creatures.”

Cllrs Mike Cubbard (Ind), Alan Cheevers (FF), Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) and Eibhlín Seoighe (Ind), along with Deputy Mairéad Farrell TD (SF), were in attendance.

Protester Margaret Phelan from Kiloughter questioned what the feeding programme would entail for squirrels affected by the clearfelling.

“Are they going to feed the squirrels and are they going to continue it for nine or ten years?” she asked, “as that is how long it will take for the trees to regenerate.”

At the media briefing, it was confirmed that the council is providing one feeding hopper per hectare and that there are no comprehensive population figures for the squirrels.