# Hungry Tree > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hungry_Tree > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hungry_Tree.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Tree > Source revision: 1278606124 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Tree in Dublin, Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox tree | name = Hungry Tree | image = The Hungry Tree at Kings Inns (geograph 4572088).jpg | alt = | image_caption = The Hungry Tree and bench | native_name = | species = London plane | binomial = ''[Platanus × hispanica](/source/Platanus_%C3%97_hispanica)'' | location = [King's Inns](/source/King's_Inns), Dublin | coordinates = {{coord|53.3521|N|6.2731|W|display=inline,title}} | seeded = circa 1900–1940 | felled = | custodian = | website = }} The '''Hungry Tree''' is a tree in the grounds of the [King's Inns](/source/King's_Inns) in [Dublin](/source/Dublin), [Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland). An otherwise unremarkable specimen of the [London plane](/source/Platanus_%C3%97_hispanica), it has become known for having partially consumed a nearby park bench. It has become a tourist attraction and is frequently photographed. The Hungry Tree was the subject of a campaign by [Green Party](/source/Green_Party_(Ireland)) politician [Ciarán Cuffe](/source/Ciar%C3%A1n_Cuffe) to ensure its preservation. == Description == The tree lies just inside the south gate of the grounds of the [King's Inns](/source/King's_Inns) (the Irish [inn of court](/source/inn_of_court)) on Constitution Hill in Dublin.{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Amy |title=Have you heard about the hungry tree in Dublin 7? |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/hungry-tree-3851089-Feb2018/ |accessdate=20 September 2018 |work=TheJournal.ie |date=14 February 2018 |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812100403/https://www.thejournal.ie/hungry-tree-3851089-Feb2018/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=O Conghaile |first1=Pol |title=Secret Dublin |url=https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/secret-dublin-29738897.html |accessdate=20 September 2018 |work=Irish Independent |date=10 November 2013 |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423232830/https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/secret-dublin-29738897.html |url-status=live }} It is a [London plane](/source/Platanus_%C3%97_hispanica) (''Platanus × hispanica'') of the type widely planted in Dublin in the 19th century.{{cite news |last1=Griffin |first1=Dan |title='Hungry tree' is slowly eating a cast-iron bench in Dublin |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/hungry-tree-is-slowly-eating-a-cast-iron-bench-in-dublin-1.3162431 |accessdate=20 September 2018 |work=The Irish Times |date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717120816/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/hungry-tree-is-slowly-eating-a-cast-iron-bench-in-dublin-1.3162431 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Dublin seeks to protect Hungry Tree |url=https://www.wantedineurope.com/news/dublin-seeks-to-protect-hungry-tree.html |accessdate=20 September 2018 |work=Wanted in Europe |date=21 July 2017 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726175412/https://www.wantedineurope.com/news/dublin-seeks-to-protect-hungry-tree.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Kings Inns, Constitution Hill, Dublin, Co. Dublin |url=https://treecouncil.ie/treeregisterofireland/602.htm |publisher=Tree Council of Ireland |accessdate=20 September 2018 |archive-date=25 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125064126/https://treecouncil.ie/treeregisterofireland/602.htm |url-status=dead }} It has been estimated to be between 80 and 120 years old.{{cite book |last1=McNally |first1=Frank |title=111 Places in Dublin that you must not miss |date=2016 |publisher=Emons Verlag |isbn=9783960410263 |page=143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=liGADQAAQBAJ |accessdate=20 September 2018 |language=en |archive-date=2 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702160146/https://books.google.com/books?id=liGADQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }} The tree, described as an unremarkable specimen "mediocre in appearance", is {{convert|21|m}} in height and {{convert|3.47|m}} in girth.thumb|Hungry Tree in 2018|leftThe tree was planted adjacent to a [cast iron](/source/cast_iron) bench dating from the early 1800s. Over decades the tree has grown to encompass the bench. The tree is said to be "eating" the bench, which is how its name originated. The grounds of King's Inns are open to the public between 7 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. every day and the tree has become something of a tourist attraction. It is much photographed and has appeared on the cover of the tourist guidebook ''Secret Dublin – an unusual guide'' and in artist [Robert Ballagh](/source/Robert_Ballagh)'s 1981 book ''Dublin''. == Preservation campaign == The tree has been listed as one of the country's "Heritage Trees" by the [Tree Council of Ireland](/source/Tree_Council_of_Ireland).{{cite news |last1=McDermott |first1=Stephen |title=Dublin City councillors seek to protect landmark 'hungry tree' |url=https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-city-councillors-seek-protection-13368730 |accessdate=20 September 2018 |work=Dublin Live |date=21 July 2017 |archive-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603183836/https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-city-councillors-seek-protection-13368730 |url-status=live }} It has been listed largely for its value as a curiosity and tourist attraction rather than its age or rarity. [Green Party](/source/Green_Party_(Ireland)) councillor [Ciarán Cuffe](/source/Ciar%C3%A1n_Cuffe) campaigned in 2017 for the Dublin Central Area Committee to grant the tree a version of the UK [tree preservation order](/source/tree_preservation_order) (TPO). Cuffe stated that the Hungry Tree and neighbouring trees "are a lovely part of the history of the north inner city. A bit like the [Blessington Street Basin](/source/Blessington_Street_Basin), it is a hidden gem. I love it and I’d hate to lose it... They have witnessed history and they are all the more precious for their age." The application for the TPO was refused as it was considered that the tree lay within the [curtilage](/source/curtilage) of other structures and by extension benefited from the protections already granted to these buildings. Consideration was given to listing the bench as a protected structure but was decided against as there could then have been a requirement imposed on the council to destroy the tree to protect the bench. == See also == *[Bicycle Tree (Trossachs)](/source/Bicycle_Tree_(Trossachs)), a sycamore in Scotland that has encapsulated a bicycle *[List of individual trees](/source/List_of_individual_trees) == References == {{reflist|30em}} == External links == *{{commons category-inline|The Hungry Tree, King's Inns, Dublin}} Category:Individual plane trees Category:Individual trees in the Republic of Ireland Category:Tourist attractions in Dublin (city) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hungry Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Tree) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Tree?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.