Clash of the ash under threat as disease hits manufacturers’ supply

A hurley shortage looks set to strike the GAA in the new year with manufacturers running out of ash because of a fungal disease that has wiped out ash trees in Northern Europe.

Hurley makers are working through their stock of ash but will be unable to import wood because of regulations introduced in the aftermath of an outbreak of ash dieback disease.

The Department of Agriculture regulations say only ash known to be from areas free from chalara ash dieback disease, or kiln-dried ash with its outer surface including bark removed, will be allowed into the country.

This means the only option for hurley manufacturers is to strip all bark from imported ash trees before they arrive here — a process which some manufacturers believe will be prohibitively expensive.

Hurley maker John Torpey likened the disease to the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001.

“I have a number of very big customers and the volume [of ash] is very big. I have enough to see me to Christmas and the spring, but after, I don’t know. I’ll have to comply with the legislation and so will everyone else.”

Mr Torpey was one of a number of hurley makers who met officials from the Department of Agriculture last week. He says he will work with the department to try to find a solution.

Since it was first found on a farm in Co Leitrim in early October, ash dieback has been identified north and south of the border. The import of ash saplings and seeds from affected European countries was then restricted. Nursery owners need a plant passport to move a sapling.