4. The Cathedral Holm Oak
My fourth post features a landmark Irish holm oak in the grounds of Limerick’s ancient cathedral.
Welcome to The Street Tree! This is the fourth in a series of pithy illustrated posts about great individual trees from Britain and Ireland. I’ll be posting at least one a week over the coming months.
Imposing St Mary’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Limerick’s oldest building, has a churchyard rich with veteran trees, but the Cathedral Holm Oak is the one that stands out. A tough old tree, it is shorter than some of its species, but all the more distinctive for it. Best seen in winter when the gothic ensemble of grey stone and evergreen oak make a fine juxtaposition. Despite appearing at home on the banks of the Shannon, this is a species that originates in the Mediterranean.
Species details
Holm oak
Quercus ilex
Where to find it
St Mary's Cathedral, Bridge Street, Limerick, V94 E068
///dent.quite.pads | 52.66792, -8.623377
Holm oak notes
‘Holm’ is synonymous with an old English word for ‘holly’, while its latin name, Quercus ilex, equates to ‘holly oak’. When young, holm oak saplings have prickly-edged leaves that strongly resemble holly, and as both are evergreen trees, this superficial connection is clear. Our holly-leaved tree is most definitely an oak however: a large, long-lived tree with acorns that confirm its true familial connections.
