Ireland S Trees

Name the five Great Trees of Ireland? What trees are most often found beside holy wells or cemeteries? Which tree gave the Red Branch Knights of Ulster their name? Ireland was once so heavily wooded it was said a squirrel could travel from Cork to Killarney without touching the ground. So it is no surprise that, in ancient Ireland, mythology and folklore were a part of the people's general knowledge about trees. Many of the myths and legends and much of the folklore associated with native trees persists to this day and are gathered together in this book.

Illustrated with fine photography, this book presents 140 of the most remarkable trees in Ireland, whether they are culturally or historically signficant, or are simply beautiful.

This well-illustrated seven-volume work (1906-13) covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles.

Canadian botanist, biochemist and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet. When Diana Beresford-Kroeger--whose father was a member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and whose mother was an O'Donoghue, one of the stronghold families who carried on the ancient Celtic traditions--was orphaned as a child, she could have been sent to the Magdalene Laundries. Instead, the O'Donoghue elders, most of them scholars and freehold farmers in the Lisheens valley in County Cork, took her under their wing. Diana became the last ward under the Brehon Law. Over the course of three summers, she was taught the ways of the Celtic triad of mind, body and soul. This included the philosophy of healing, the laws of the trees, Brehon wisdom and the Ogham alphabet, all of it rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. Already a precociously gifted scholar, Diana found that her grounding in the ancient ways led her to fresh scientific concepts. Out of that huge and holistic vision have come the observations that put her at the forefront of her field: the discovery of mother trees at the heart of a forest; the fact that trees are a living library, have a chemical language and communicate in a quantum world; the major idea that trees heal living creatures through the aerosols they release and that they carry a great wealth of natural antibiotics and other healing substances; and, perhaps most significantly, that planting trees can actively regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate. This book is not only the story of a remarkable scientist and her ideas, it harvests all of her powerful knowledge about why trees matter, and why trees are a viable, achievable solution to climate change. Diana eloquently shows us that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, and strengthen those connections, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive ways that are leading to drastic fires, droughts and floods.

Stopping by Woods is a fascinating guide to 340 forests and woodlands open to the public throughout Ireland. Donal Magner writes with a rare insight about forests he has worked in and visited over the years as a forester and journalist. The book is the first of its kind ever produced in Ireland and Europe, it is packed with information not only about forests and tree species, but their associated flora and fauna, history and heritage. The book features all the forests featured in the State's open forest policy now enshrined by Coillte, the Forest Service Northern Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In his six-year journey the author has explored all our native and naturalized woodlands, and the State forests established since the beginning of the last century. Stopping by Woods is a celebration and record of this remarkable civic amenity. This book will provide readers including students, specialist groups, historians and the general public with a deep understanding of Irish forests and their heritage. It is a book for our times, for people who care about our tree culture and about sustainable development.

Brings to life the myths, legends, and folklore associated with native Irish trees, much of which persists to this day. Beautifully illustrated and imaginatively written, this mix of natural history, mythology, and folklore will entertain and enlight