In the wake of yesterday’s decision by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, TD not to proceed with plans to extend hedgerow cutting into August, a newsletter landed in my inbox. It was from Birdwatch Ireland’s Assistant Head of Policy and Advocacy, Oonagh Duggan. In it, Oonagh….

Hawthorn, also known as the whitethorn and the May tree, is one of our most common native trees, and one that is steeped in legend and folklore. It grows quickly for the first fifteen years or so of its life, and it’s thorny, gnarled branches make an ideal barrier to….