Coillte has confirmed that 20% of its forests damaged in Storm Éowyn last year have been clear felled to date.

The semi-State forestry company added that "this complex work will continue into 2027".

Storm Éowyn, which brought hurricane force winds to Ireland almost a year ago, caused unprecedented levels of damage to approximately over 26,000 hectares (ha) of Ireland’s forests.

Coillte

Over 14,500ha of the damaged forests were on the Coillte estate, primarily located in the north west of the country.

"To put this in context, over two years of harvesting material or over 50 million trees were windblown in one day, creating significant challenges for Coillte and the wider Irish forestry sector," Coillte said.

In a statement, the company said that productive forests, biodiversity forests and recreation forests and trails were extensively impacted at a cost of over €60 million.

Over 100 Coillte recreation sites had to close following the storm, 96 have now reopened.

Coillte said the four remaining recreational forests that were extensively damaged will reopen in 2026.

Timber

Coillte said it is continuing to harvest and replant the windblown forests with recovered timber being processed through Irish sawmills for construction and other uses.

The company said that it continues to prioritise safety for those working on storm damaged sites.

It is also working closely with stakeholders including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Windblow Taskforce "to ensure a coordinated national response across the sector".

"This collaboration is helping to manage storm-damaged forests safely and efficiently, while building resilience for the future.

"We thank the public for their patience and remind everyone to avoid entering forests where clearance operations are ongoing," Coillte added.