Limerick couple 'massively lucky to be alive' following removal of 48-tonne tree from their home

A LARGE beech tree weighing approximately 48.5 tonnes was removed last Wednesday by tree surgeons using cranes following its collapse onto a house in Castleconnell during Storm Éowyn last Friday.

UL academic Dr Maura Adshead and her husband and fellow Professor Neil Robinson share the home together in a small estate in Coolbane Wood along with their 22 year old daughter. Ms Adshead said they're "massively lucky to be alive" and that they're "totally blessed" with support from neighbours and friends.

They were miraculously saved from the worst of the impact as Ms Adshead had left the couple's bed to sleep in another room due to her husband's loud snoring. She explained that her husband managed to get out of the bedroom where the tree collapsed without any injuries. "Everybody is completely amazed and thinks it's a miracle because it is completely miraculous. There isn't any of the room that isn't covered in rubble."

The extensive damage to the home following the collapse of the large beech tree 

Ms Adshead continued: "I can't believe they've taken out 48 and a half tonnes of a tree. They've made the back of the house safe... They've cleared away as much of the debris as you could."

Two structural engineers have surveyed the damage to the house and the family are currently waiting to get the assessment report. The tree had a preservation order and was thought to be over 100 years old and the family's neighbours dubbed it the Michael Collins tree. A couple of days before Collins died, he went to inspect the troops in Limerick and the tree was next to the munitions bunker.

Despite all the support from locals, she has found it "overwhelming" to see the damage to the home they've been living in since 2008. "It's hard when you just see everything jumbled up or when you know that you can't see something because it's under rubble."

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They don't know how much it will cost to repair the damage to the house but Ms Adshead said it will cost "a horrendously large amount" because they will most likely have to reroof the entire house and rebuild the rear of the property. 

Listing the extensive damage to the family home, Ms Adshead said all of the furnishings in the bedroom where the tree collapsed were destroyed and the kitchen roof is about to collapse.

"The two offices at the top of the house are completely devastated. The tree has gone through through the roof, through the ceiling of the bedroom. All the masonry from the walls and the roof is crushed on the floor. The bed is crushed. Two wardrobes are crushed. The ensuite bathroom is now an open air bathroom. it's just open to the back garden," stated the UL professor.

Ms Adshead and her family are staying in a neighbours home at the moment which she said gives them breathing time to work out what they're going to do next. "We'll be out of the house certainly for six months longer so our next challenge will be finding somewhere to stay."

Their neighbourhood has a WhatsApp group and once local residents began hearing about the family's situation following the severe storm, they began contacting them and offered their support. A local builder has also put a large tarpaulin over the house to try and stop rain from coming in. 

Ms Adshead added: "All of the members of all of the houses went to our house and formed a line, brought down all of the books from the two offices upstairs, and did a mercy dash into the kitchen to get as much as they could." They also pushed all of the furniture that they could from the back of the house to the front because it was clear that the ceiling will collapse. 

Looking to the future, Ms Adshead said they need to find a builder who's willing to rebuild the house. "I've been amazed actually at the responsiveness of everybody. It's been wonderful in so far as, you know, losing your home can be." She thanked Munster Tree Surgeons for being so helpful and putting them in touch with other contacts.