|
IRISH TURF
What do you mean turf?
Sod peat, the traditional domestic fuel of Ireland.
Come again?
The Irish equivalent of lumps of coal used for heating and cooking
in open fires .The Irish have been burning slabs or sods of peat since
the 8th century, and for a long time it was the only source of fuel
for the majority of the rural population.
And where did they get the peat from ?
From the peat bog of course. Just below the spongy green sphagnum
surface of a bog there is the deep dark brown peat, rich in the accumulation
of thousands of years of plant material. Cut into slabs it looks and
feels like crumbly gingerbread. Dried out it more closely resembles
dusty old cowpats, but like old cowpats it burns very well.
Must pong a bit?
Far from it, burning peat gives off a lovely sweet smell that is
full of character and comfort. Peat smoke hangs heavy in the air around
the small towns of rural Ireland and conjures up images of warm welcoming
fires, home cooking and plenty of fireside chat.
Sounds like Irish Blarney
No, it’s true and the best way to experience it yourself is
to spend some time around an old Irish pub with a real peat fire.
But do people still use it in their homes ?
You bet, in the Midlands and West of Ireland over 1m tonnes of sod
peat or turf are cut annually, generally by local people who use the
turf themselves. Most of this is mechanically sliced but a small amount
is still cut by hand using a special spade called a sleán
How would you spot a traditional turf cutting area.?
A sure sign are the little stacks of peat bricks left out to dry
in the summer sun. Usually in rural areas where it is too tricky or
expensive to use machinery
And if you wanted to buy a few sods?
Hard, as most people buy in bulk taking a few trailer loads to last
them through the winter. You could try asking a friendly turf cutter
but one of the best and most interesting ways is to take a ride on the
Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Bog Train and dig your own.
A Bog Train, is it peat fired?
No, it is a diesel train running on a stretch of the longest narrow
gauge system in Europe, criss -crossing the 22,000 square acres of the
Blackwater Bog near Shannonbridge, Co. Westmeath. It is a great place
to get to grips with the Bogs. The dinky train takes visitors on a tour
of Blackwater showing them the past (virgin bog), present (desert of
a modern cutaway) and future (reclaimed fields ,forest and wetlands).
Part of the trip is a chance to try your hand at turf cutting in the
traditional way.
Is it easy?
Not as easy as the experienced cutter make it look.. For a start
the sleán can be left or right handed. Then you have to position
yourself correctly and cut with even and firm strokes, but once you
hit a rhythm it can be very satisfying. Of course loading a few pieces
of turf for fun is nothing like the backbreaking chore of cutting turf
for a living.
But aren’ t bogs a bit ...boring?
On the contrary they are unique living things telling a story like
a 8000 year old diary. The acid conditions and lack of oxygen preserve
items buried in the peat for thousands of years. Pollen, trees, antlers
from the Giant Irish Deer, human artifacts, even lost caches of thousand
year old butter and occasionally human bodies have been found buried
in the bog. Then there is the unique flora and fauna...
You learnt a lot on that train, go on...
The lack of nutrients encourages wonderful insectivorous plants
like sundews, butterworts and bladderworts. There are the rare fen orchids,
the delicate bogcotton and the springy sphagnum mosses in rich reds,
yellows and glorious Irish greens. The caterpillars of specialised butterflies
and moths feed on the bog plants, while the adult insects take the nectar
of the bog flowers. Birds such as the willow warbler, reed bunting and
the now rare corncrake plus shrews, hares and badgers thrive within
the unique environment.
So isn’t digging the peat destroying all this?
I’m afraid so, although non commercial turf cutting by hand
never really threatened the ecosystem , the industrial stripping of
the peat for horticulture, energy production, and intensive agriculture,
has caused considerable damage.
Is anything being done?
Yes, last year the Irish government announced steps to halt the
cutting of turf on Special Areas of Conservation with compensation for
turbary rights and a programme of buying virgin bog from farmers. The
Peatland Conservation Council are busy attempting to maintain at least
4% of the different peatland types found in Ireland. Amongst their many
activities they are inviting people to buy a piece of Irish turf in
their save a sod of the old bog scheme.
The best sort of peat to buy in Ireland?
Without doubt, the threaten bog is preserved and you don’t
have to heave a bag of "dusty old cowpats" through customs.
turf tips
1 Don't confuse hand-cut peat sods with industrially produce briquettes
made from powdered peat sold in garages all over Ireland.
2 If you cannot actually get to the heart of the turf country
for a pint in front of a peat fire them you can go to a Johnny Foxes
in Glencullen Co,Wicklow on the outskirts of smokeless Dublin
3 For an alternative whiff of the turf try Connermara
whiskey , made from peat smoked malt or burn the souvenir peat incense
that ‘gives off the genuine smell of ireland’ and uses
only tiny amount of the precious bog.
The Clonmacnoise and West Offlay Railway operates daily from April
to early October. 10am to 5pm on the hour every hour. tel 0905 74114/74172/74121
more information on bogs from:
Irish Peatland Conservation Council 3 Lower Mount Street
Dublin 2 weblink: www.aoife.indigo.ie/~ipcc
and Bord na Mona 76 Lower Baggot Street Dublin 2
weblink www.bnm.ie
With thanks to Aer Lingus tel.020 8899 4747 and the Irish Tourist Board
020 7493 3201 weblink: www.ireland.travel.ie
|
