The mystery behind a massive Celtic cross planted into the Donegal landscape using thousands of trees has been solved.
In recent days, people have been left in awe of the symbol carved into the countryside outside the village of Killea near the border with Derry.
The recent good spell of weather and stunning Autumn colours have helped the almost perfect cross stand out even more.
But is this an ancient message from our ancestors or a freak of nature?
The answer is even more heart wrenching than we could imagine.
The trees, which measure more than 100 metres long, were planted on the hillside by local man Liam Emery in what has been described as a feat of “horticultural engineering.”
Using two different types of trees, they have thrown off different colours and cast the Celtic cross symbol on the landscape as Darren Sheaffer’s stunning picture shows.
Tragically Liam passed away six years ago, aged just 51, after he was involved in an accident and suffered brain damage.
His wife Norma said she partially forgot about Liam’s planting project but says he would have been delighted to see it come to fruition the way it has.
Donegal Daily gardening columnist Gareth Austin said this was a true piece of horticultural engineering.
“It’s not just cutting patterns in your back garden. This horticultural engineering – we will be appreciating this for up to the next 70 years,” he said.
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