Meath builder 'overwhelmed by demand' now plans to donate 820,000 trees by 2030

Louise Walsh

A Meath builder who gave away 9,000 trees in December has now donated a further 25,000 trees and plans to distribute over 800,000 trees to encourage others to plant by 2030.

Paddy Mangan has been so overwhelmed by the demand for trees nationwide that he has now increased his initial aim to get 250,000 planted to a whopping 820,000 trees in the next six years.

The builder and part-time farmer distributed 25,000 trees at the end of the first week of February, bringing the total number to 34,000 given away since he started his Freetrees initiative in late 2023.

The dad of two from Oldcastle already planted 3000 trees on his own 55 acre holding, after initially trying to replace all the Ash trees in the area which had been destroyed by the Ash Dieback disease.

He also realised that trees were a vital part of the battle against climate change and a better future for his daughters Cara (2) and Oonagh (6).

In the coming weeks Paddy is also planning on donating a tree to every national school in Meath to coincide with National Tree Week and he is hoping to expand this scheme to a different county each year in a bid to encourage children to foster a love of nature and realise how important trees are to life.

"I've planted about 60 varieties on my own farm so far. Not all are native trees but there is a lot of colour among my hedgerows and fields now," he said.

"Some I bought potted but most were bare root trees, about two to three feet high.

"These include Oak, Ash, Alder, Birch, White Thorn, Beech, Rowan, Mountain Ash and about 150 apple, pear, plum and cherry trees as well as raspberry, gooseberry and blackberry bushes which I planted to encourage and feed butterflies, bees and birds.

"I think people now know the world is getting warmer and our climate is milder and wetter.

"We can help do our bit by the simple act of planting more trees. The worst enemy to the world is ourselves.

"I like buying trees but I was running out of space on the farm to plant them. I get great enjoyment bringing Oonagh out and watching her plant a tree and I wanted to give that experience to someone else who could enjoy planting a tree with their child.

"Just before Christmas, I posted on the Native Irish Trees page, offering to donate 1500 native Irish trees but within five days, there was so much uptake that I ended up giving away almost 9000 trees.

"Thankfully I found a lot of volunteers to deliver the trees to the people all across the country.

"My wife Erin and I couldn't believe the interest by people to plant a tree so we decided to try and get enough donations and sponsorship to give away 35,000 trees a year, which would mean 250,000 Irish native trees planted across Ireland by 2030.

"Again though I was overwhelmed by demand. I gave away 25,000 trees by the first week in February and I'd say I could've given away three times more with those who subscribed.

"I wanted to give the trees in bundles of 50 but I had to cut that number to 30 to give to as many people as possible. In the end a great team of 35 volunteers distributed 750 trees each to about 900 people across the country and even to people living on the islands of Bere Island, Clare Island, Inis Mor and Cruit Island.

"As well as to help the planet, I did it to make people smile because I got such enjoyment of seeing my children plant a tree. I received so many pictures from people since of their children out digging a hole for the trees and it is great to see.

"One lady of 76 years told me that she never dreamed she would plant a tree but got ten from me, which she planted on the second anniversary of her husband's death. She enjoyed planting so much, she said she went to the garden centre the next day and bought another 140 trees. There are so many stories like that.

"To coincide with National Tree Week, I am giving a mature tree to each of the 120 schools in Meath and I hope to give to each school in each county in time.

"Due to the level of demand, I've upped the game and now hope to donate 60,000 trees in November and 60,000 trees each February, so 120,000 trees each year until 2030, a total of 820,000 trees nationwide.

"That's the plan but at the minute, I'm paying out of my own pocket so I would be very grateful for any sponsorship or help and can be contacted by email info@freetrees.ie or a message on Facebook Free Trees Ireland page."