The Galway City Council is committing to feed a population of squirrels in Merlin Woods for 10 years.
Decimated by Storm Éowyn, in January 2025, the red squirrel population in the city’s largest woods is to be supported by an uncosted feeding project, with a lifespan of between eight to ten years.
At the first, full meeting of the City Council after the summer break this Monday, senior officials confirmed they have already installed one hopper full of squirrel food. They intend to place one per hectare of woodland they plan to clearfell, as part of a project to restore the storm-ravaged woods.
Overnight damage to temporary fencing erected to cordon-off areas ecological significance within the woods during clearfelling necessitated immediate closure of primary pedestrian routes through Merlin Woods yesterday, Wednesday, but the first squirrel feeder was unharmed.
More than 15 hectares of mostly evergreen trees are to be removed by December. Replanting is to begin in autumn 2027, subject to the council securing a grant by the Department of Agriculture under its NeighbourWood Scheme to cover 85 per cent of replanting costs.
The so-far uncosted squirrel-feeding programme will be paid for from regular revenue of the cash-strapped local authority, and council officials are hopeful that community volunteers will eventually take over the running of the project.
Answering questions from councillors after delivering a thorough presentation on the future of Merlin Woods, senior parks and amenity official, Lisa Smyth, said staff were unsure exactly how many squirrels live in the woods, but that they are most vulnerable wildlife inhabiting it as machinery arrives on site this week.
“We don’t know how hungry they will be, or if this will even work, so we hope to learn how to [do this] feeding programme through trial and error,” she said, in response to queries from Councillor Frank Fahy (FG ).
Fahy commended council staff, and volunteers from Friends of Merlin Woods, for transforming the forested park from an area “of smouldering, burnt-out cars after each weekend” decades ago, to the pleasant greenspace it is today.
Council officials, including city manager Leonnard Cleary, gave a robust defence of City Hall’s public information campaign on clearfelling plans for Merlin Woods, despite online criticism from residents in the area, local councillors and Friends of Merlin Woods.
“Consultations have happened over the past months, and there is an important health and safety aspect to this project,” said Cleary, in reference to storm-damaged trees hanging over paths local children use to walk to school.
Cleary reminded councillors that they should be discussing “budgets, policy and statutory provisions” at plenary meetings, not operations which fall under his officials’ remit after consultations have completed. “I’ve made my views clear on this previously,” he admonished councillors, who requested a special update from officials in the agenda of their September meeting on the Merlin Woods plans.
Around 5,000 tonnes of timber collected by private forestry workers in Merlin is expected to be worth between €130,000 and €160,000.
Only one contractor responded to the council’s advert to fell the “complex site” of Merlin Woods, when the forestry sector is still working on the legacy of Éowyn. Wicklow-based firm Euroforest will retain the timber it harvests as payment for works completed at Merlin.
As previously reported in last week’s Advertiser, only two city councillors attended information meetings over the summer, and officials outlined 14 meetings with other stakeholders on plans to clear 46 per cent of the 83-acre woodland, much of which is made up of Norway spruce planted as a commercial crop in the 1960s.
Councillor Declan McDonnell (Ind ) took exception to comments from officials on the lack of attendance by councillors. He complained that one Merlin Woods briefing was scheduled on the same day as a meeting of the city’s East Ward councillors. Ms Smyth pointed out the Merlin meeting was in the evening.
“If people don’t come to meetings which are scheduled, what can we do about that?” responded Smyth, who also suggested some interested parties had “misread” reports from arborists and other experts on tree canopy dynamics and other “complicated” topics.
In response to questions from Councillor Alan Curran (SD ), Ms Smyth explained that Merlin’s 65-year-old evergreens should have been managed by silviculture when 20 years’ old. Instead, they have become “spindly” and top heavy, meaning nearly all must be removed, as they are now vulnerable to moderate, winter winds.
Smyth explained these trees are no longer commercially planted in the west of Ireland, and that Merlin’s shallow soil profile over limestone bedrock makes even healthy trees particularly vulnerable to wind when their damaged neighbours, acting as windbreaks, are removed.
Vandalism in Merlin Woods
Separately, Galway City Council on Wednesday closed major pedestrian pathways through Merlin Woods because of alleged, ongoing criminal activity.
“Closure had originally been scheduled to take effect next week as part of ongoing works in the park. However, damage to the perimeter fencing and ecological protection measures has necessitated the immediate closure of the primary pedestrian routes,” a spokesperson said.
A number of routes will remain open to maintain access for local residents, including a busy school route, and 24-hour security patrols have been initiated.
The Council has advised that continued damage to site fencing and security measures could result in further restrictions, such as closing the park in its entirety, including access along the school route.
“Members of the public are reminded that unauthorised entry to a construction site is illegal, and presents significant health and safety risks. Any breaches of site security or incidents of unauthorised access will be referred to the appropriate authorities.”
