Canning Hurleys has announced that it will close its business next week as ash dieback has now impacted most of its supply chain routes.
The company, based in Portumna, Co. Galway, was established by the Canning family, including hurling stars Joe and Ollie, in 2010.
The handmade ash hurleys were sold across the country and have been exported to the UK, United States and Canada.
Ash dieback
The first confirmed finding of ash dieback in Ireland was made in October 2012 at a forestry plantation site in Co. Leitrim. The airborne fungal disease has now spread to all counties.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) previously told Agriland that “all of the evidence is pointing to the disease continuing to spread and affect most ash plantations in the country”.
As a result of the outbreak, DAFM has not approved the planting of ash under any of its schemes for almost ten years now.
Over 500 applications have been made by plantation owners to date under the DAFM ash dieback scheme.
Canning Hurleys
According to a statement on the Canning Hurleys’ Facebook page, its last day of business will be next Thursday (March 31).
“It is with deep regret that we wish to inform you that Canning Hurleys have been forced to close our business due to ongoing supply chain difficulties we are encountering.
“We are no longer in a position to produce the quality hurleys we have to date,” the post outlined.
The company explained that “ongoing and persistent ash dieback disease” has affected most of its supply routes causing difficulty in “securing quality ash planks”.
“As you know, quality is at the core of every Canning Hurley we produce. We cannot compromise the quality of our products to continue to meet demand with the current ash supply issues potentially due to worsen in the future.”
The company thanked its staff, suppliers and customers over the past 11 years.
“It gave our staff and family great joy to see our Canning Hurleys being used from underage blitzes throughout the country right up to Senior All-Ireland Hurling Final day in Croke Park.
“It was our pleasure as a family to produce quality handmade hurleys for the hurling and camogie communities across Ireland and further afield.
“We hope that everyone can understand our situation and please know that it was a very difficult decision for us to make,” the statement on Facebook outlined.