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Have you heard about the hungry tree in Dublin 7?

It’s been gobbling a bench for the last eighty years.

HAVE YOU HEARD the one about the hungry tree?

Situated on the grounds of King’s Inns is a tree that has been slowly but surely gobbling up an iron bench.

The tree is estimated to be around eighty years old and has grown in a way that makes it appear it is eating the bench.

Like so.

The tree is a London Plane and has become a bit of an attraction in its own right. An urban curiosity, if you will.

A quick flicker through the #hungrytree hashtag on Instagram yields lots of photos of passersby sitting on the bench and likely praying the tree doesn’t consume them, too.

Last year, Irish Times reported that Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe proposed a motion calling for the tree and bench to be protected.

Councillors passed the motion and Dublin City Council later confirmed that the tree and bench were covered under existing measures protecting King’s Inns and its grounds.

Fancy seeing this oddity in the flesh?

Simply nip into King’s Inns on Constitution Hill, Dublin 7, and you’ll find it residing by the South Gate. Approach at your own peril.

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Author
Amy O'Connor
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