IRELAND’S TREE OF the Year (yes, it’s a real thing) was today announced as The Witch’s Yew, situated in Blarney, Cork.

The 600 year old tree, which is on the Rock Close on the grounds of Blarney Castle Estate, managed to branch out on its own, taking the coveted prize.

However, there were many trees that others were rooting for that sadly didn’t make the cut. 

These included the Mighty Battle Oak in Drogheda, Meath, the Castletown Sweet Chestnut in Kildare and the Arbour Hill Sycamore in Dublin.

The competition is run by the Tree Council of Ireland, in association with the Irish Tree Society. 

The winning tree is located at the The Witch’s Kitchen, which was built by the Jeffreyes family under the already existing yew tree in the 1750s as part of the famous Rock Close gardens.

Legend has it, the area is the home of the Blarney Witch, who first told mortals of the Blarney Stone’s magic powers to give people the so-called gift of the gab.

The witch, imprisoned by day in the Witch Stone, is released after nightfall, only to be banished to the witch stone again at dawn. Some early morning visitors have claimed to have seen dying embers of a fire in her kitchen.