Grey squirrels pushing out the reds

The grey’s arrival in an area spells doom for the local red squirrels, writes Richard Collins

In an infamous act of environmental vandalism, a ‘scurry’ of American grey squirrels was presented to a bride during a 1911 wedding celebration in Castleforbes Co Longford. Released into the countryside, the invaders thrived. Slowly, but surely, they have extended their range. All eastern and northern counties are colonised and the Shannon, which blocked their westward march for decades, has been breached.