Hedgerows Ireland make an appeal to landowner

In an open letter, Hedgerows Ireland has made an appeal  to Mr John Magnier:  

Dear Mr Magnier,

Hedgerows Ireland, the Tipperary-based group dedicated to all aspects of hedgerows, have been approached by a group of local residents who live near Parkville Farm, Clonmel, recently bought by you at auction. 

They are worried about what may soon happen to the ancient hedgerows, the wildflower meadows, the mature trees,  the duck pond, the walled garden and the beautiful stone courtyard farm buildings which form an iconic ‘eye catcher’ on the road from Clonmel to Fethard. 

As you know, the farm is right on the edge of Clonmel, and neighbours in the area have told us stories about blackberry picking along the ditches, mushroom foraging in the fields and how Parkville is loved and cherished by young and old alike, the first glimpse of countryside and rural beauty for generations in the town. We’ve been told about sightings of badgers, bats, wrens, thrushes, blue tits, yellow hammers and much more. The farm is a haven of wildlife.

Our own group has been working with Teagasc and farm organisations in recent years to highlight the incredibly important role played by hedgerows and trees in our landscape. 

Apart from providing a home to wildlife (95% of our biodiversity is in hedges and ditches) they also store massive amounts of carbon, they prevent flooding, they provide shelter shade and beauty to the landscape. 

We simply cannot afford to lose any more, and replanting new hedges somewhere else is not the answer as a new hedge will take 50 years to match the Parkville hedges which are over 200-years-old.

So we are asking you to conserve and protect this beautiful old farm with its beautiful buildings and fields for the sake of your children and grandchildren and those of the people of Clonmel.

Thank you,                                                          Alan Moore Hedgerows Ireland

     PS: Hedgerows Ireland is now working with other stakeholder groups to lobby the Government to limit the investment buying of land by billionaires. 

Without this change, our young farmers cannot compete to buy land and the Irish family farm will not survive.