In Irish folklore, the tree regarded as a fairy meeting place and dangerous to cut is the hawthorn.
Hawthorn trees—called sceach in Irish—are strongly associated with fairies and the Otherworld in Gaelic tradition. An isolated “fairy thorn” may mark a passage or meeting place for supernatural beings, so disturbing one was believed to invite misfortune. This belief helped preserve lone hawthorns in fields and along roads.
The warning was not absolute in every tradition. Hawthorn branches could be cut when flowering and used as May bushes, especially around Beltane, the Gaelic festival held on 1 May. The tree’s white blossoms and thorny branches also connected it with protection, seasonal change and older Christian legends.
Hawthorn is sometimes confused with rowan, another tree surrounded by protective folklore. Rowan was widely regarded as a defence against harmful magic, while hawthorn’s special reputation comes from its role as a fairy tree and gateway to the Otherworld.