3-011-879 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Ancient yew-tree at Palmerston, [Ireland]. 1864. Engraving from a sketch by Mr. Wakeman. 'Adjoining the church, a few yards to the south-eastward, stands a venerable yew-tree, now almost withered, and which has probably given name to the place. In Ireland, the yew-tree is almost invariably styled "palm," and on Palm Sunday the Roman Catholics, men and women, usually attach a sprig of the yew to their hats or bonnets. That this tree is coeval with the church there can be little doubt; and, as the latter exhibits the architectural peculiarities of a period certainly not later than the twelfth century, the Palmerston yew must be considered as one of the oldest trees remaining in the country'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.