Forestry: after the storm – the afterlife of wood

The damage caused by catastrophic storms remains in the collective memory long after the event has passed. For example the Night of the Big Wind – Oíche na Gaoithe Móire – in 1839, remained etched in public memory for generations. Loss of life and damage to buildings featured in contemporary accounts, but in the absence of accurate instruments for measuring wind speed, damage caused to trees is regarded as the best indicator of the severity of early storms.

More recently, tree damage featured strongly in reports of the winter storms of 2013-14, culminating in Storm Darwin on 12 February 2014. This was the first storm in Ireland to cause widespread damage to privately, mainly farmer-owned forests. It presented major cleanup challenges, especially in the harvesting and sale of the windblown material. Eventually the salvaged timber from mainly coniferous forests was sold to well-established markets such as sawmills, panelboard mills and wood energy outlets.

We are less sure of the outlets that were made available for windblown trees in woodlands, parklands and hedgerows. No doubt, specialist small sawmills purchased some of this material but one suspects that much of it ended up as firewood, which is a pity as many of these trees – mainly hardwoods – have high added-value potential as demonstrated in a unique project between Áras an Úachtaráin and GMIT Letterfrack.

Letterfrack College places strong emphasis on utilising homegrown timber so when the opportunity arose to create – or recreate – “functional and imaginative furniture” from storm-damaged trees in the grounds of Áras an Úachtaráin in 2013, it was grasped by the college staff and students.

President Michael D. Higgins, a supporter of Letterfrack, gifted mature oak, ash and beech to the college, some dating to the middle of the 18th century, having survived the Night of the Big Wind and the 1903 storm. Now, Marion McGarry and Dermot O’Donovan celebrate the President’s gift in See the Wood from the Trees: The story of storm-felled timber gifted to GMIT Letterfrack from Áras an Úachtaráin.

The connection between Áras an Úachtaráin and Letterfrack is outlined by President Higgins in his thought-provoking foreword. Artefacts in wood, made by graduates and students, have been presented by President Higgins to heads of state including Pope Francis and Prince Charles while prominent Letterfrack furniture in the Áras includes the presidential inauguration chair and lecterns. He is particularly proud of the pieces he presents to visiting dignitaries made from the windblown trees which have been “shaped by circumstance and context...while remaining profoundly connected to a common and shared heritage”.

While the reimagining of the windblown trees is the catalyst of the book, the authors explore wood as a functional, creative and artistic medium that moves from Áras an Úachtaráin to Letterfrack where the afterlife of the storm-damaged trees begins.

In between this east-west journey, the authors weave a narrative that includes a history of Irish forestry, a record of trees in the Áras grounds, design in Letterfrack and an 18-quatrain poem, by Theo Dorgan, each assigned a tree or plant representing a letter in the Irish Gaelic alphabet. Some scholars who claim that as few as eight letters are associated with tree names will dispute Dorgan’s expansive tree roll call. However, the poet has the Old Irish Tree List from Bretha Comaithchesa – Laws of the Neighbourhood – to support his claim for all 18. Dorgan’s poems are a reminder of the lost ancient forest resource, so Duncan Stewart’s call for sustainable forestry and “the importance of nurturing and developing our forests” is timely.

While the authors are strong on the heritage, craft, design and aesthetics of wood, they remind us that the making of the diverse pieces requires great skill in timber conversion, sawing, seasoning and stacking, as well as patience to ensure that the woodworker and designer can begin the creative process safe in the knowledge that the end product will not only look beautiful but will also stand the test of time.

Beautifully illustrated and designed by Artisan House Publishing, the book draws on a diverse range of work by Letterfrack students and graduates comprising indoor and outdoor pieces. As a result, the lasting impression is that wood takes on a new life after it is felled, either by nature or man.

The conversion of the storm-damaged trees by Letterfrack woodworkers and designers is a reminder of the added-value potential of timber even after its natural life is over. It is also a painful reminder of how much valuable wood is lost as firewood after windblow, due to ignorance and lack of a wood culture.

The Áras-Letterfrack project could be replicated around Ireland so that trees damaged by storm, disease or other agents can live on in furniture, joinery, sculpture and artefact. In that way, both damage and renewal can remain in the collective memory and consciousness.

Duncan Stewart is right when he says that the story told in See the Wood from the Trees should act as “a model of how one community embraced the opportunity to create an imaginative educational experience and enhance the appreciation of students, staff and the wider community on the amazing potential of wood”.