VOLUNTEERS WILL begin a major offensive next Monday to rid Achill Island, Co Mayo, of the wild rhubarb invader, Gunneria Tinctoria.
The plant, which has its origins in South America, can grow 10-foot tall and has 10-foot wide leaves. It now carpets large areas on Achill Island to the detriment of local flora and fauna.
Denied sunshine, indigenous plants have withered and died on Achill as the canopy spreads each year higher and ever wider.
Now, the local Achill Gateway Group, backed up by Deirdre Cunningham, heritage officer with Mayo County Council, has declared war on the invader.
What is described as “an all out offensive” will be launched on Monday next at ancient Kildownet Castle on the west side of the island.
Volunteers from all over Ireland will gather at Kildownet on Monday armed with machete-type implements. Their aim will be to try to halt the spread of the inedible “rhubarb” by concentrating where it has just taken root.
The plan is to first chop the leaves away and then inject glyphospate (Roundup weedkiller) into the roots.
This tactic has worked very well in other affected areas such as nearby Clare Island, according to John Sweeney, a volunteer with the Achill Gateway Group.
“Gunneria is now all over Achill,” Mr Sweeney explained. “It’s a dreadful eyesore and very hard to control.”
Modern machinery has been used in previous failed attempts to rid Achill of the unwanted rhubarb but this has only served to spread the plant over an even greater area because seeds lodge in the machine tracks.
Birds are also adept at unwittingly spreading the seed.
“The plant is a pest, an absolute eyesore, and we are determined to be rid of it for once and for all,” Mr Sweeney said.
Gunneria was first introduced to Achill in the 19th-century by a local landlord.