Forestry history is being made in Co Cavan this week as the first shipment of Irish windblown timber is prepared for export to China from William Mahood’s forest outside Canningstown.

“This is the first time in the history of Irish forestry that logs will be exported outside the continent of Europe,” said Paddy Bruton, MD, Euroforest Ireland (EFI).

“The damage has been catastrophic but you can still salvage your crop and, while we would like to see as much timber processed in Ireland, we need to export most of the logs from private – mainly farm – forests before degrade sets in,” he added.

“We have been exporting roundwood from Ireland since 2018, mainly through the ports of Sligo, Limerick, Cork, Wicklow and Dundalk, so we were prepared for this market, although the storm has magnified the challenges in timber mobilisation,” said Declan Clancy, forest manager with EFI. Forest owner William Mahood, said exports provide an alternative market when there is a glut of timber on the market.

“I’m in a good position as I have my own sawmill to process a proportion of the blown timber, with commercial full lengths now being stored in containers for China and the remainder being exported to the UK,” he said.

Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae welcomed the EFI initiative, saying it demonstrates that “we can maximise the value of home grown timber despite the damage caused by Storm Éowyn”.