A scarcity of home-grown ash has forced Ireland’s hurley stick makers to import the wood from some of the Queen’s estates in Britain.
One estimate puts the number of imported ash planks in stock at 100,000. But the new supply has come too late for many hurley makers who have been forced out of business by the shortage.
Irish state forester Coillte, which is buying tonnes of the wood from Britain, says the availability of Irish ash has dried up because farmers are no longer allowed to fell the trees under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme. Coillte itself has to obtain permission to harvest an ash tree in its forests.
Coillte intends to distribute the imported wood to the country’s 57 licensed hurley makers who need an estimated 300,000 ash planks every year to meet demand.
