Instead of the usual award ceremony in Dublin, the 2020 RDS Forestry Awards were presented around the country due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to host our awards ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall, but it has been both enjoyable and educational to spend time with our winners on their farms and forests this summer,” said Michael Duffy, CEO of the RDS.
The awards, organised by the RDS and supported by the Forest Service and Teagasc, reward forest owners who practise sustainable forest management to the highest standards. This year’s awards went to:
Production Forestry – Peter and Patricia Farrelly, Kells, Co Meath.Production Forestry runner up – John Sherlock, Navan, Co Meath.Teagasc Farm Forestry – Ross Buchanan, Carndonagh, Co Donegal.Teagasc Farm Forestry runner-up – Patrick Rhatigan, Roosky, Co Roscommon.Community Woodlands winner – Rossmore Forest Park, Co Monaghan.Community Woodlands runner-up – Lower Castle Park Woodland, Mallow Co Cork.The Production Forestry award went to Peter and Patricia Farrelly, whose 46ha forest, established between 1999 and 2001 near the village of Kilmainhamwood, has a species mix of Sitka and Norway spruce, oak and ash.
The couple’s initial reason for planting was to utilise the forestry premiums to provide a steady annual farm income. However, they have discovered many additional benefits, including increased biodiversity. Their sustainable approach maximises the various natural and man-made features in the forest, including the Whitewood river, which flows through the property, two ring forts and an old farmhouse they are restoring.
They have also established forest roads “which provide access, so the local community can also enjoy the scenic beauty and peace of being with nature in the forest,” said Peter.
The runner-up in the 2020 Production Forestry category was John Sherlock from Gainstown outside Navan. He took over the management of the 18ha forest in 2009, originally planted by his father Patrick six years previously. In addition to managing the forest, with its species mix of alder, native and red oak, Sitka and Norway spruce, alder and wild cherry, he runs a thriving wood energy business.
Patrick Rhatigan, Roscommon. \ Michael Dillon/Coalesce.
Ross Buchanan, Inishowen, won the Teagasc Farm Forestry Award (see Tom Houlihan’s report), while Patrick Rhatigan, Roosky, Co Roscommon, received the Special Commendation Award. Patrick was farming a suckler herd on 52ha before making the decision to plant the majority of his farm in 2012, after seeing the success of a neighbour’s move to forestry.
Patrick realised that forestry would not only reduce his workload and cut down on the use of fertilisers and sprays, it would also provide him with a regular income: “I made the right decision for both myself and the land,” he says.
“The very weather, with high rainfall, that had hampered cattle farming, has now became a key asset in the production and growth of trees.”
Instead of the usual award ceremony in Dublin, the 2020 RDS Forestry Awards were presented around the country due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to host our awards ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall, but it has been both enjoyable and educational to spend time with our winners on their farms and forests this summer,” said Michael Duffy, CEO of the RDS.
The awards, organised by the RDS and supported by the Forest Service and Teagasc, reward forest owners who practise sustainable forest management to the highest standards. This year’s awards went to:
Production Forestry – Peter and Patricia Farrelly, Kells, Co Meath.Production Forestry runner up – John Sherlock, Navan, Co Meath.Teagasc Farm Forestry – Ross Buchanan, Carndonagh, Co Donegal.Teagasc Farm Forestry runner-up – Patrick Rhatigan, Roosky, Co Roscommon.Community Woodlands winner – Rossmore Forest Park, Co Monaghan.Community Woodlands runner-up – Lower Castle Park Woodland, Mallow Co Cork.The Production Forestry award went to Peter and Patricia Farrelly, whose 46ha forest, established between 1999 and 2001 near the village of Kilmainhamwood, has a species mix of Sitka and Norway spruce, oak and ash.
The couple’s initial reason for planting was to utilise the forestry premiums to provide a steady annual farm income. However, they have discovered many additional benefits, including increased biodiversity. Their sustainable approach maximises the various natural and man-made features in the forest, including the Whitewood river, which flows through the property, two ring forts and an old farmhouse they are restoring.
They have also established forest roads “which provide access, so the local community can also enjoy the scenic beauty and peace of being with nature in the forest,” said Peter.
The runner-up in the 2020 Production Forestry category was John Sherlock from Gainstown outside Navan. He took over the management of the 18ha forest in 2009, originally planted by his father Patrick six years previously. In addition to managing the forest, with its species mix of alder, native and red oak, Sitka and Norway spruce, alder and wild cherry, he runs a thriving wood energy business.
Patrick Rhatigan, Roscommon. \ Michael Dillon/Coalesce.
Ross Buchanan, Inishowen, won the Teagasc Farm Forestry Award (see Tom Houlihan’s report), while Patrick Rhatigan, Roosky, Co Roscommon, received the Special Commendation Award. Patrick was farming a suckler herd on 52ha before making the decision to plant the majority of his farm in 2012, after seeing the success of a neighbour’s move to forestry.
Patrick realised that forestry would not only reduce his workload and cut down on the use of fertilisers and sprays, it would also provide him with a regular income: “I made the right decision for both myself and the land,” he says.
“The very weather, with high rainfall, that had hampered cattle farming, has now became a key asset in the production and growth of trees.”
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