ALL ABOUT PEAT

                                                 PEAT OR TURF

       Peat has always been an important ingredient in Irish life as they used it both for fuel and cooking. When Ireland became a republic, the government gave every Irish family one acre of peat land. It is also often referred to as turf. This acre is inherited by offspring. The acre may or may not be near your home. For decades each family would gather with his neighbors and friends in July after a few dry days to harvest the peat.

      It was a hard and long chore. A special narrow spade is used to cut out a block about a foot long and 6 inches wide and thick. The logs, 90% water, are stacked teepee style to dry. After a few days all the logs need  to be turned. When completely dry they are quite light and are taken to the home and thrown on a pile for burning. I forget what that pile is called.

      Today, large machines with big wheels set wide apart are used to harvest the peat and can accomplish in a half day what took days to do by hand. Everyone helped everyone else in this chore. Burning peat gives off a strange aroma which I liken to incense burning.

      Electricity did not arrive in many areas of Ireland until 1958---and running water not until the 70s. Now many homes use electric heat.

      Seventeen percent of Ireland is bog land. Each foot of peat dug represents 1000 years. Blanket bog runs 10-20 feet deep but raised bog runs up to 30 feet deep. Bog land is very spongy and soft. Often old preserved oak will be found when digging peat. Buried air tight, it is well preserved and I liken it to drift wood. It is often used in decoration. It is not uncommon to find a body and when they do it is well preserved. The hair turns red, but the skin remains soft. It is possible to know what the person ate for their last meal as the contents will still be in the stomach! Sometimes the bodies are very old.

      Small, sure-footed, versatile ponies now known as Kerry Bog Ponies reflect the qualities of their living and working environment. They were used on family holdings in the mountains and valleys of Kerry for centuries. They were known locally as Hobbies. They were used to transport peat when it was dry from the bog to the home. They are cute little fellows and we saw a couple alongside the road one day posed waiting for picture taking.

      We stopped at a bog one day and it was really quite easy to jump up and down and feel the earth move. It was a strange sensation! The ground was very spongy, not quite as spongy as a water bed but definitely spongy. We smelled burning peat several times while riding around the countryside in a van over narrow country roads. I never really knew anything about peat and found it quite fascinating.