Cork Christmas tree farm sharing the joy with charities

A CHRISTMAS tree farm in the city is giving back once again this festive season, donating a number of trees to Cork charities.

Every year since the farm came into the city boundary, Castletreasure Christmas Trees - a forestry, Christmas tree and foliage production enterprise – has invited the Lord Mayor to visit the farm and select a tree to be donated to a good cause.

“We supply a few different charities with trees.

“The Lord Mayor every year picks a new charity and we normally cover that… there’s plenty of charities around Cork so we do give away a certain amount of trees for good causes,” owner of the farm, Pat Lehane, told The Echo.

The farm, which has been selling Christmas trees for more than a decade on land that has been in the same family for a century, is this week gearing up for what is expected to be the busiest weekend before Christmas day. 

But some early birds came to the farm in November to get their tree.

“Every year we’ve a few students come out because they’d be having a party and they’d want a tree. 

“They’re the earliest and then we’d have people who want to have their tree before The Late Late Toy Show. 

“That gets the show going and then we get the general people.

“We’re getting mostly all the people who we’ve had before, they’re all coming back again. It’s great to see them,” Mr Lehane said.

While most people opt for a pre-cut tree, customers also have the opportunity to cut down their own tree at the farm based in the Douglas area.

“What most people do is they come and they pick their tree and then they go for a walk.

“There’s a lovely view from where the trees are growing and you can walk up from the farm yard,” Mr Lehane said.

“On a clear day, you can see the Galtee Mountains, you can see the Knockmealdowns, you can see Shandon and you can see Páirc Uí Chaoimh – all from the one field!”