The Office of Public Works (OPW) are being called upon to take immediate steps to remove “illegal” mature trees which threaten the historic Labbacallee Megalithic Tomb, situated between Fermoy and Glanworth.
Speaking in Christ Church, Fermoy, Heather Smith welcomed government officials and a large crowd for coming to support her talk on ‘The Hag’s Bed’; an important heritage at-risk site during ‘Heritage Week 2026’. She thanked the Heritage Council for giving local people an opportunity to report risks to important monuments in their area, saying it was a generous invitation that showed an open mindedness to ameliorating deplorable situations.
TREES PROVING A RISK
Heather then issued a spirited call to action; to encourage the Office of Public Works (OPW) to take immediate steps to remove “illegal” mature trees threatening the Labbacallee Megalithic Tomb. Popularly known as “The Hag’s Bed,” the early Bronze Age wedge tomb is being systematically dismantled from the inside out. Heather highlighted how the aggressive subsurface root systems of a mature beech tree are acting like hydraulic levers, forcing the prehistoric structural stones and upright orthostats completely out of alignment.
Full story in this week’s Print & Digital Edition.
