Over thousands of years in rural Ireland, going to the bog to cut turf was a tradition passed from one generation to another. Slicing the heavy earthy blocks from the ground was demanding work, but the reward was bringing home thick sods of turf to heat the home and cook food.

As climate science has advanced, what was once seen as a natural use of the land is now understood differently. About one fifth of Ireland is covered in peatland, and the cutting and burning of these boggy landscapes for fuel or animal grazing releases greenhouse gases and can damage biodiversity and wildlife. Peatlands are crucial carbon sinks, which means they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it.

Our evolving relationship with bogs, as sites of tradition, memory, fuel, carbon, and culture, is the subject of a new documentary For Peat’s Sake, aired by RTÉ. Over the course of 60 minutes, the programme weaves together reflections from former turf cutters, ecologists and farmers punctuated with archive footage from centuries past.

For Peat’s Sake

Featured in the documentary are Fiona Dunne, chairperson of Abbeyleix Bog Project, and her father, Frank Dunne, a former turf cutter. The counterpoint of father-daughter, turf cutter-conservationist, generates some depth and richness.

Throughout her childhood, Fiona used to cut turf with her father in the bog just outside Portlaoise, where Frank had turbary rights. She attributes her love of the bog, and appreciation for the natural world to “my parents, my background, and from having those chances as a child just living in the country”.

“We grew up all going to the bog, cutting turf and that’s where we got our love for peatlands. That’s where I got it anyway. We always worked in that kind of meitheal, this idea that everybody just mucked in and did what needed to be done.

“We did not know that peatlands were vulnerable. We didn’t know the science behind it, in particular. We just didn’t know the way damage and peatlands affect the whole bigger picture of carbon and climate change and all of that.”

Frank tells Irish Country Living that he originally bought the three perches of turf that he owns for £25 back in the day. A perch is an old metric formerly used to measure land, and three perches is about five metres. “That’d be around €30,” says Frank.

It’s cultural heritage in every respect. That’s why it did appeal to me

That same turf bank is “very nearly exhausted”, having been cut for 50 years. “I’m nearly gone past cutting turf, I’m 92 now,” he says. Today, he rents out the bank and still gets some turf cut for family.

“I think it’s important that we remember what the bog was, what it is, and all the rest of it. I think the bog is a very nice place. Mind you, there was an awful lot of wet days on it. On a lovely day, the bog is as nice as any place in the world. But on a wet day, it’s miserable.

“In 1942/43, fuel got very scarce. They opened up a new bog on account of the war and we always called it Hitler’s bog,” Frank recalls. “I’m just thinking now we may have a Trump’s bog,” he jokes.

For Peat’s Sake unfolds largely as Gaeilge, which is one of the reasons why Fiona got involved with filming in the first place. “It’s a lovely connection with both nature heritage and linguistic heritage,” she remarks. “It’s cultural heritage in every respect. That’s why it did appeal to me.”

The Irish language has “been revived” in recent years, Fiona continues. “And that’s another reason why I agreed to do the programme, because we’re based in Laois, it’s not a Gaeltacht area, but it’s lovely to see. I’m running a ciorchal comhrá here, a social group gathering for people who want to have a coffee in Irish – or in our case, it’s going to be a pint. That attracts everyone from older people who have a love of Irish to younger people who are just interested.”

Abbeyleix Bog Project

It was both through her career as a teacher as well as volunteering at Abbeyleix Bog Project that Fiona started to learn more about climate change, and the vital role that peatlands can play in helping to reach our climate and nature targets. “As the science was developing, we were learning it and teaching it [in the classroom]. But it was still a little bit remote for me, because I didn’t have any opportunity to engage with that other than in a book.

“It wasn’t until I came across the Abbeyleix Bog Project that I realised I could volunteer. I could go down there and help with building the boardwalks and clearing the paths. Even at that point, I didn’t really know the detail of the conservation work. I still think a huge majority of people who use our bog as an amenity wouldn’t be aware of the science, the work that goes into it, and our conservation goals and all it takes to try and reach those goals.”

Abbeyleix Bog Project is a volunteer-led community project that was first established in 2000 to conserve and protect the bog which was threatened with harvesting for peat moss. Following negotiations with Bord na Móna, a 50-year lease was signed in 2009 that allowed the local community to manage Abbeyleix Bog with a primary focus on conservation, amenity management and education.

Most of my professional life has been in education, and I really can see that now, in order to be connected to nature, we need to be involved with it somehow

Now in its 26th year of community management, Fiona says what makes the conversation project stand out is that it is volunteer-led.

“I often think that people enjoy things that are not commercially transactional. People get a lot more sometimes out of something. I can do something here to help this place into the future. I think when you do voluntary and community work, you come from a very different perspective.”

Reflecting on what we can all do to connect with nature, and protect it, Fiona says that moving from passive engagement to active participation (like growing in your own garden) is a good place to start.

“Most of my professional life has been in education, and I really can see that now, in order to be connected to nature, we need to be involved with it somehow. Not as consumers but by contributing somehow and doing something. I feel quite strongly about that.

“I was a teacher for 35 years. Kids need to be outdoors in nature. That connection has to happen when children are younger, and especially nowadays, because of all the other challenges in getting children connected.”

As chairperson, Fiona is proud that Abbeyleix Bog Project are fostering and facilitating that connection.

“We have had a programme for the last three years in Abbeyleix where all the local schools are targeted for a day, and we have a little dipping pond, a little outdoor class from there where they can work as a scientist.

“The bog is only 500ac, a little less than that, it’s never going to save the world in terms of carbon sequestering, but the amount of education we could do here, and the research that can be done in terms of conservation, that’s infinite.”

Available to watch on RTÉ Player. See abbeyleixbog.ie