Coillte says it is on track to complete the recovery of Ireland’s worst-ever forest disaster, with significant progress made in salvaging timber and replanting trees following the devastation caused by Storm Éowyn earlier this year.

The state forestry agency has now secured felling licences for 85% of the 26,000 hectares of woodland flattened by the record-breaking storm in January, including 14,500 hectares on Coillte-managed lands. Replanting is already underway, with all damaged sites expected to be cleared by 2026 and fully replanted by 2027.

The storm, which struck on January 24th, was the most powerful ever recorded in Ireland, ripping through forests across the country and leaving a trail of destruction. Productive plantations, biodiversity zones and recreational forests were hit hard in what Coillte has called an “unprecedented” event.

Despite the enormous logistical challenge, a national recovery effort was quickly mobilised. Coillte’s harvesting teams and Irish timber contractors have ramped up capacity to extract and process millions of tonnes of windblown wood before it deteriorates – a race against time with just 18–24 months to recover usable material.

The fallen timber is now feeding Ireland’s sawmills, supplying construction-grade timber for low-carbon housing, as well as wood for fencing, pallets, panel boards, and bioenergy.

“This is the largest salvage operation in our history,” Coillte said. “But the progress so far has been remarkable, thanks to extraordinary collaboration across the sector.”

As forests are cleared, replanting teams are already sowing the next generation of trees, restarting the forest cycle and helping to restore damaged habitats.

The disaster has also reignited debate around forest resilience. In February, Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney raised the issue of setback distances in relation to forestry in the Dáil. Deputy Cooney claimed that “restrictive forestry legislation” contributed significantly to the scale of power outages witnessed across Ireland during Storm Éowyn on January 24th.