"According to Aubrey Fennell, the man with the responsibility for measuring and recording every one of Ireland’s heritage trees for the Tree Council of Ireland, Ireland’s oldest native tree is the Silken Thomas Yew tree (Taxus baccata) growing in the grounds of St Patrick’s College in Maynooth. When last measured, it had a girth (the tree version of a waist measurement) of 14 metres and is estimated to be in the region of 700-800 years old. As for Ireland’s tallest native tree, the record is held by a 40-metres high ash tree ( Fraxinus excelsior ) growing in the grounds of Marlfield House, Clonmel, Co Tipperary."