Caution urged over proposal to remove ivy from trees

IVY - is it friend or foe?

An interesting debate on the pros and cons of the plant arose at the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District.

Councillor Michael Kilcoyne had tabled a notice of motion asking for arrangements to be made to remove the ivy which is choking many trees in public areas in the district, including in the old cemetery in Lough Lannagh and on the greenway.

He asked that the project should commence no later than September 1 of this year.

Some of the trees are dying, he told the meeting, where ivy has grown up and is choking them. At the old cemetery, it was ‘shameful’ the way some trees are being choked.

It needed to be made a priority, he said, noting it was easy to stop the ivy. He didn’t mind some, but not to be choking the trees.

Councillor Ger Deere made the point that bees need ivy.

Ivy can be damaging but it can also be beneficial and quite beautiful, said Councillor Al McDonnell in his contribution to the debate.

It produces a nutritious berry that a number of wild birds depend on, such as wood pigeon. So before they embarked on a campaign to destroy it, let them think about it.

Bees, he also explained, don’t take nectar from ivy but wasps do.

The plant has its environmental importance.

Wearing his Tidy Towns hat, Councillor Deere said a campaign to remove ivy had started about 10 years ago but they were stopped.

Ivy, he said, doesn’t choke the tree. The issue was about it knocking them if it gets too heavy.

It was agreed to get advice on the matter, with the point made that the council has signed up to the national pollinator plan and will follow the advices.