May 17, 2005

Bord na Moaners


There was a time when this sight would fill me with dread. Now it's just schadenfreude. The turf-cutting season has started in earnest - unfortunately, that also means it's the start of the uncontrollable bog & forest fire season. Someone lights a fire to clear away the gorse and furze, the wind takes hold and hey presto, the heather blazing. The turf in the picture above hasn't seen a human hand yet - a mechanical digger scoops up a mound of peat, dumps it into a machine that squirts it out into neat rows. Hand won turf will be cut across Connemara on the smaller plots, but in most places, the slane has been replaced by the JCB. Of course, it still has to be stacked and loaded into trailers - and that is usually done by hand.

Posted by Monasette at May 17, 2005 11:48 PM
Comments

Fantastic photo.

Now you need to get one of a guy with a sleán.

Posted by: Colm at May 18, 2005 01:40 PM

John, I saw loads of Connemara past Maam Cross on fire on Saturday. The high winds meant it was out of control and even burning along the main road.

Posted by: Sean McCormack at May 19, 2005 03:52 AM

Yes - I was talking to someone this week who saw the Maam Cross fire. Seemed like a big one.

Posted by: John at May 19, 2005 07:44 PM

Ok, please forgive me for being a dense American, but we don't do any of this stuff. Why do they cut turf? What do they do with it? Does it get dried into bricks or something, and used for hearth fires? What would happen if they didn't cut the turf, would the land be unmanageable or something?

Posted by: Lilorfnannie at May 23, 2005 04:18 PM

Yes - it is dried out like bricks, and used as fuel. It's a lot less inefficient than coal, but since there's lots of it about, it's cheaper.

If the turf wasn't cut, the bog would be like a swamp (but more overgrown)

Posted by: John at May 23, 2005 05:07 PM

Isn't that something. That's really cool. Thank you very much.

Posted by: lilorfnannie at May 24, 2005 06:26 PM