Galway City Council ordered to pause tree felling by High Court

Galway City Council has been ordered by the High Court to pause the felling of trees at a forest on the outskirts of the city following an injunction application by local residents. Friends of Merlin Woods allege the city council is engaged in the unlawful removal of trees from lands at the forest. Tom Flynn was granted a temporary injunction on Monday on behalf of the advocacy group, ordering the council to stop felling works at the forest. Judge Richard Humphreys said the case could return next week. The injunction application follows the commencement of the felling works at the forest by a contractor working on behalf of Galway City Council.READ MOREThe council ordered the felling in response to damage caused by Storm Éowyn in January 2025. The council said it plans to replant native trees at the impacted area.In written evidence, Caroline Stanley, spokeswoman for Friends of Merlin Wood, said the group supported the council’s initial plans to remove storm-damaged trees. “However, subsequently it has become clear that the project is now to fell 15.41 hectares of Merlin Woods, almost half of the entire woodland, and with a proposal at some stage to apply for funding to replant the trees,” Stanley said.“For the avoidance of doubt, the [group] unreservedly opposes how this plan is now being implemented, and never consented to it,” she said.The council has already cleared about 3.5 hectares of woodland, and intends to fell the balance of the 15-hectare area, the group said.[ Galway’s Taaffes shop, empty for 30 years, has a new ownerOpens in new window ]The group has concerns about the impact of the felling on the biodiversity of the forest.The group said it has engaged an expert who has expressed concerns about the council’s plans for the forest, and the need for the felling of trees in the manner proposed by the local authority.Stanley said the group asked the council to pause the felling in order to discuss the impact of its plans on the biodiversity of the woodland. “We feel that our voice has fell on deaf ears, and we have been left with no option but to seek recourse to legal action,” she said.