Treasures in Our Bogs being celebrated in Glenties during Heritage Week

The Donegal GAP Heritage and History Group has embarked on a multi-year project exploring our bogs in a multi-faceted way, entitled Treasures in Our Bogs. 

As part of this year’s theme of celebrating Ireland’s living heritage during national Heritage Week August 12 to 20) the group is hosting three events, two on August 18 and one on August 19. 

Chairperson of GAP Heritage and History Group Paula Harvey said: “Our first event is our Treasures in Our Bogs exhibition of photographs, bog oak sculptures, tapestries, and artifacts in Glenties Market Hall reflecting locally lived experiences that are an integral part of our approach to bogs with a focus on south west Donegal. 

“The photographs bring into focus a soon to be forgotten way of rural life as well as some of the natural wonders of our boglands. 

“We very much appreciate the contributions from Richard Wayman, Kevin Dunleavy, Catherine Ward, Róisín Talbot and others towards the exhibition.”

 Local craftsman, Laurance Herron has been carving exquisite pieces from bog oak that has surfaced during peat cutting and erosion over many decades and his work also forms part of the exhibition. 

So too, Colm Sweeney has been weaving tapestries for many years and a selection of his work that has been inspired by the colours of the bogs as well as dyes from bog plants will be on display. 

“St Conall’s Museum in Glenties has a number of bog finds and they have loaned us some artifacts,” continued Paula.

“Bogs have been sites of archaeological significance throughout prehistory and into historic times and we are lucky to have some bog finds on display.”
Visitors will be encouraged to walk across the road to the museum to see other collections including the locomotive last used on the Bord na Móna site at Kilraine outside Glenties which closed in the early 1990s. 

In 1992 the Glenties Turf Co-op took over from Bord na Móna and ran it for a number of years, until it, too, ceased operation. 

The Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE Programme will be represented at the exhibition. And the group extends a very special thanks to Dermot Diamond who will talk about the Glencolmbkille Placenames Project collecting minor placenames that tell so much about the social life and the importance of the Irish language in the understanding of locations in this part of Donegal. 

The exhibition is followed by a concert that draws from the local community. Music and song will be performed by Dermot and Tara Diamond, Peter Campbell, Rónán Galvin, Paddy Toye, Breezy Willow Kelly and sean-nós by Naoise MacCathmhaoil. 

“Local poet Charlie Boyle will recite poetry inspired by the bog and we will have tunes from the bog by local children,” said Paula.

The exhibition starts at 1pm followed by the concert at 5pm. There is a €10 charge per person for the concert. 

Paula added: “Overall, as part of our long-term plans, we will be exploring the importance of boglands in history, heritage, oral histories, placenames, culture, music, traditional turf cutting, craft/industry and flora. 

“The nature of their environment, preservative and curative powers makes boglands a source of human activity and provides us with an insight to life throughout the ages and that is captured in the photos of real people in our community. Bogs are living history, from the medicinal powers of their plants to a vital source of fuel evoking a sense of home. They represent a unique Irish way of agriculture soon to disappear. 

“With the ongoing development of Fáilte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way we will be offering new ways to weave our rich cultural, historical and natural heritage together. This project will continue to discover the many facets of our community’s past and present.”

Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) 

The Treasures in Our Bogs project will be a lasting legacy, representative of three (West of Ardara/Maas Road SAC, Slieve Tooey/Tor Mor Is./Loughros Beg Bay SAC and Lough Nilan Bog (Carrickatlieve) SAC) of the 35 Natura 2000 sites in the northwest of Ireland. 

Working with the Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE Integrated Project (2021-2029), NatPro (TCD), and NPWS the group hopes to build a solid bridge from primary schools to second level and beyond. The project will educate and spread awareness, building community participation and integration. 

It very much dovetails on the group’s flagship project at Doon Fort and its wider landscape. “The aim is to ensure sustained community engagement and community goals are met ultimately through the creation of a bog inspired community-made tapestry and bog oak sculpture,” said Paula.

“The project ensures future generations can experience an irreplaceable source of inspiration, pride and knowledge.”

A focal point of the project in the next few years will be on bog bodies, especially that of the Meenybradden (Ardara) woman wrapped in a woven cloak which was unearthed in 1978. The nature of their environment and human interaction with them, makes boglands an intrinsic part of rural life, providing us with a unique insight and legacy throughout the ages. 

The exhibition is funded by the Creative Ireland Programme, Donegal County Council, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The concert is funded under the same grants schemes and is also funded by Údarás na Gaeltachta. 

“We would not be able to achieve any of this without the goodwill and support from our volunteers who give of their time freely and with enthusiasm,” said Paula.