An eye-catching roadside exhibition has replaced a row of diseased trees in a Co Monaghan village.
Twelve poplar trees in Smithborough had to be removed when they were found to be diseased.
But instead of cutting them down entirely, the village's Tidy Towns group decided to leave six feet stumps behind.
Removing the 70 foot tall trees enitrely would have left a massive void along the busy approach road, so the group decided to replace them with tree carvings instead.
With the help of craftsmen from the local mens’ shed in Lisnaskea, the twelve trees have been transformed into a variety of creatures including an eagle and a fox, as well as symbols representing the village.
Known for its creamery, one of the carvings shows milk flowing from a bucket.
There are also two "wind spirits" to represent the "night of the big wind in 1839", during which Smithborough was badly affected.
Karen McCaffrey from Smithborough Tidy Towns said the new tree carvings have had a very positive impact on the village, with people stopping to take photos and find out more about the statues.
"It's the main route from Clones to Monaghan. It's a very busy road, one good thing is that it's slowing traffic down," Ms McCaffrey said.
"It’s creating a real buzz in the village."
Seán McGeogh and Jimmy Cosgrove are the two men who transformed the 12 trees.
With the initial ideas for what they would carve, the designs were sketched out with marker before they used chainsaws to create the shapes.
Carving out everything from badgers to birds, the project was completed in just two weeks .
Mr Cosgrove said the carvings were a great solution to the problem.
"There would have been an awful gap left here, and there’s always a problem digging out massive roots, it can interfere with paths and fences, so it solves a problem like that," he said.
He said the tree carvings had become a talking point for locals and visitors alike, and has also generated extra work for both men with commissions coming from individuals for their own gardens.
Mr McGeough added: "We’ve got plenty of work from it, too much work maybe.
"People think maybe we are better than we are, I don’t know."
He said they had been asked to do "crazy stuff", since the Smithborough project, including bears and wolves.
"Somebody wants something new every day," he said.
