Mayo farmer shortlisted for national forestry award

A Mayo farmer has been shortlisted for the RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards.

Paul Maguire from Claremorris is among those shortlisted in the Teagasc Farm Forestry Awards category, which recognises working farmers who are integrating forestry and farming for environmental, social and economic benefits.

The RDS will host the two-day festival on biodiversity and sustainability ‘Finding Common Ground’ on Thursday, May 2 and Friday, May 3. 

As part of the two-day event, the RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards, which recognise and reward farmers and woodland owners that have adopted Climate-Smart Agricultural practices on their properties, will take place. 

Mr Maguire farms 72 acres of forest, made up of Oak 15 percent, Alder 20 percent, Birch 30 percent, Larch eight percent, Spruce 25 percent and Apple two percent.

He also keeps dry stock cattle and is a participant in the National Parks and Wildlife Farm Scheme.

An iron smelting furnace has been an integral part of the farm over a number of generations. The newly planted forest is transforming the landscape back to how it may have looked when the furnace was constructed in 1738.

The mature native woodlands, which comprise 12 acres of the land, were used for wintering cattle, and it is these practices that Mr Maguire wishes to continue. 

The Claremorris man has welcomed visitors for more than fifteen years, sharing the knowledge of the land, woodland and furnace. He has conducted Social Farming workshops for participants with intellectual and physical disabilities. 

Although the land and forestry is privately owned, he will continually open it up to the public for healing, knowledge, woodwork projects and pure enjoyment.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Deputy Chief Executive, Foundation at RDS, Niamh De Loughry, said: “With social sustainability at its core, the RDS long-term vision for Ireland sees five key areas underpinning the island's culture and economy - Arts, Agriculture, Enterprise and Equestrian, Science and Technology. 

“Our objective is to harness the energy and ideas of people to identify needs, work to foster momentum and create scale to propel our culture and economy to new heights. There are many barriers to sustainable development in Ireland and the RDS is poised to play a role in addressing them alongside key partners through events and initiatives such as this upcoming festival,” she concluded.

The awards ceremony will take place on May 3, with the event being delivered as one of the RDS Foundation social impact programmes.

It will incorporate presentations and panel discussions exploring how Ireland can harness the benefits of our natural resources and the circular economy with a view to creating increased awareness, education and identification of solutions to act on.

Alongside this, a number of awards ceremonies will take place to celebrate best practice in these areas.