Offaly’s living bogs to the fore for Heritage Week

Did you know that despite many of its bogs disappearing over the last 200 years, Offaly is still a European ‘superpower’ when it comes to living bogs?

The Faithful County has several of the finest examples of ‘active raised bogs’ (still growing) in the EU and, as part of Heritage Week 2019, interested parties will get a chance to visit some of these rare habitats.

This Thursday  August 22, has been designated as bog day in Offaly, with two big events taking place.

On Thursday morning, a special coach tour of some of our last remaining active raised bogs is taking place. Commencing at the Clara Bog Visitor Centre at 10am, the free tour has been organised by Offaly County Council and ‘The Living Bog’ raised bog restoration project.

The Living Bog is an EU-funded LIFE project restoring 12 of Ireland’s oldest near-natural ecosystems – raised bog. Six are in Offaly. This tour will view restoration works and trails on a number of these sites, taking in the peatlands story past, present and future.

The tour is free and will take in a number of the project sites. You will need to wear boots and bring a packed lunch – just like an old day on the bog! To register email ronan.casey@chg.gov.ie

On Thursday evening, the impressive Kilclonfert Community Centre will host an evening of discovery about Raheenmore Bog SAC.

The raised bog, which covers 520 acres, is home to hundreds of Europe’s rarest species – with flora and fauna totally unique to Ireland’s few remaining raised bogs found throughout the site. It is also an important carbon store. The peatland has been designated as both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) by the Irish State and a Natura 2000 site by the European Union, and is now a protected site. The peat is very deep, being up to 15m in places, but despite having a very extensive area of active, living bog (i.e. still growing), parts of the bog are drying out.

It is hoped that Kilclonfert Community Centre will be a hub for information about this important bog in the future.

On Thursday night, anyone with any stories or memories of the bog will be encouraged to share these so the community centre can record these for future generations.

The event is free, and will take place from 8-9pm. Refreshments will be served.

For more info on the evening, email kilconfertcommunitycentre@outlook.com or check out The Living Bog on Facebook and www.raisedbogs.ie