B2W, I live in sw pa here in the US. That is a shame to here about the ash in the alps facing the same fate. I never realized how many ash were around here until I noticed them all dying, its pretty sad.
I made my first 2 bows from ash, and combined with what seemed like a pretty low opinion of ash from my reading, plus such a strong desire to work with osage, I didnt try it again for a long time. I recently made a couple for my buddy and his wife who let me cut a couple trees off their property and was very surprised at how well they turned out. I have enough to make another dozen or so bows, so I am happy about that. I hope you have more as well because it looks like you figured it out yourself.