sceal na mona - heartland - Bord na Móna`s community

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LOOKING BACK 50 YEARS - SOME MEMORIES OF BOORA
By Dr Finbar Callanan former Bord na Mona Chief Civil Engineer
I joined Bord na Mana on the 1st of
June 1956. Prior to joining the Board I
was engaged on the design of the new
jetties and harbour facilities for the port
of Waterford which had a s izeable
expansion programme under way. I had
been considering a career change at the
time and I attended an interview for a
civil engineering position in Bord na
Mana which at the time seemed to be
going places consequent on the major
change-over from sod peat to milled
peat for power generation
I was interviewed for the job by
Eugene Redahan Chief Civil Engineer
and Patrick Cogan Asst. Chief
Engineer and one comment of Eugene
Redahan's which stuck in my mind was
that Bord na Mana would be an utterly
different engineering experience
compared to anything I had done
before. This turned out to be very true.
The interview was successful and I was
offered the post of C ivi l Engineer in
Boora. As I had been recently married
the offer of a house in the new vi llage
at No 6 St COL'mac's Park Kjlcormac,
was a major inducement
Before
taking
up
duty
I
reconnoitred the whole area and a
number of things struck me. They were
the immensity of the areas in
development and the tidiness of
everything - on the bog, the offices, the
workshops, the railways and the village
itself which to me was a model of
layout and care. The machinery was
certainly very different from anything
I had seen or worked with previously
and the first sight of a ditcher working
up to the north line in Boora was an eye
opener to say the least.
My neighbours in St Cormac's Park
were Dan Davy and Mick Coughlan on
one side and Sean Treacy and Tom
Quinn, Production Engineer and later
manager of Clonsast, on the other and
we were made very welcome. I didn't
have a car so Sean Treacy, who
afterward left the Bord to go into
private business, introduced me to
Boora on my first morning, where I
was greeted by the Manager, Lewis
Rhatigan, with whom, in various
capacities, I was to work very closely
over the next 23 years.
I was assigned to work on the
development of Boora 3 which at that
time consisted of Derrybrat, Drinagh,
Noggus, Falsk, and Clongawneymore,
and I don't mind admitting that I had a
lot to learn. There was a large amount
of survey work to be done for
acquisition, bridges, railways and
drainage which also entailed a lot of
discussion with the local landowners
with whom we were always most
anxious to maintain good neighbourly
relations. I was very fortunate to avail
of the experience and local knowledge
of Mick Doyle who was foreman in
Boora 3 and who was an exceptional
man in every way. Others with whom I
worked closely were surveyors Sean
Linehan, later to be manager of
Kjlberry Works, and Pat Higgins from
Leitrim who did so much of the
fundamental survey and setting out
work throughout the Group. Mick
Gorman, Asst. Foreman, was always
most knowledgeable and helpful as
were other staff, including John
O'Brien from Carna who fabricated the
famous milled peat model in the Boora
Offices and other men such as Sean
Dolan and Jimmy Connerton, who
were not only skilled staff men on
survey and setting out but were also
very helpful with their knowledge of
the people and the areas we were
working in.
In late 1956 some of us were more
than a little perturbed that there might
be staff cutbacks consequent on the
cutting back by the ESB of their
programme of expansion involving the
peat stations. However that matter was
eventually sorted out to our great relief
by the Government decision to use the
surplus peat production capacity to
build two Briquette Factories in the
Boora Group and in the Denygreenagb
Continued on page 42.
An "Irish Airways" photo of the Silver River bridges construction site in October 1958.
December 2006
Page 39
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... Continuedfrompage 39.
Group. That really initiated a very
demanding progralIDne of work with a
well
established
deadline
for
completion and I cancelled all thoughts
of moving elsewhere and decided to
stick with the Company for the time
being.
The following years saw Boora
Works developing into a hive of
activity which was led briskly by Lewis
Rhatigan. Ferbane Power Station
commenced taking peat. Drinagh and
Noggus were brought into production
and development advanced in Falsk.
Development also accelerated in
Clongawneymore which had already
been plough-drained and a most
complicated drainage pattern was
designed to take account ofthe ups and
downs of the bog floor which would
have done justice to a blanket bog in
Mayo. Additionally Oughter, PoUagh,
and other fringe areas were acquired
with the objective of expanding the
total area under production and so
reduce the original target demand of
100 tons per nett acre to 70 tons per
nett acre, which was more readi ly
achievable.
Clongawney was a unique bog in
many ways in peat composition and in
its surface flora and fauna. The deITies
on the islands throughout the bog were
a unique feature and at least one of
them was approached by a "Danes
Road" mainly composed of birch
which was exposed in subsequent
drainage.
The site investigations carried out
nOlth and south of Crancreagh bridge
on the Cloghan to BiIT Rd. , eventually
led to the purchase of a fann at
Derrinlough which became the site for
the briquette factory. Preliminary
works for construction commenced
with Liam Dunne (who came from
Lullymore) as Manager and Harry
Huggard as resident engineer. This set
off a flurry of activity throughout the
Group including the renovation of the
old hostels in Boora to house the
German contractors who were not
prepared to take second best
Changes in the administ'ation saw
Tom Quinn going to Lemonaghan as
Manager and Martin Kelly being
Page 42
Th e Boora Works ' staff in 1958: Front, LlR., T Oliver; A Browne; L. Rhatigan;
M. Kelly; S. Meehan. Back, LlR., JO 'Boyle; J Connolly; P Higgins; D. Galvin;
Maura Glynn; F Callanan; Breda Sheridan; A. Barry; PEnglish; V Clarke.
appointed production engineer for the
Group. I took over from Martin in
development, drainage, railways and
consh'uction which kept me well
occupied for the rest of my time in
Boora as railway connections linked
the various bogs, bridges were built
and main outfalls were developed. The
Board was very fortunate in all its
developments in that almost without
exception the neighbouring landowners
were invariably very helpful in
facilitating the construction of railways
and the deepening of external outfalls
There is no doubt that the Company's
compulsory powers of acquisition were
a very powerful instrument, but where
drainage was concerned the farmers
generally welcomed us with open anus.
In that regard Bord na M6na added
significantly to the improvement of
much marginal land around its
periphery.
In all our works on development
we were able to avail of the generous
advice of Tommy Lee, Head Office
Development Engineer, and of Design
Engineer, Joe Larkin, who with Ernest
Vivion Switzer had designed the first
Bord na M6na bridge across the
Shannon at Lanesboro and many other
lesser bridges besides. Additionally the
service provided locally to the civil
engineering side by the mechanical
side under the ever helpful Andy
Brown was always appreciated . I recall
with gratitude the ready assistance
afforded us by Peter Usher, Andy Freer,
Bern ie Jennings, and others in those
areas where mechanical and civil
engineering crossed.
The year of 1958 was a complete
disaster for the Bord with one of the
worst summers ever. Apart from the
effect on the peat harvest I remember it
for the difficulty of building the
railway and machine bridges across the
Si lver River, the number of times flash
floods swamped our works and the
problems of excavating the site at
Derrin lough and building the railway
embankment from the factory to the
Little River.
During most of my time Mick
Dempsey was supervisor on the
bridges. His experience of working in
water gained on the Brosna Drainage
was invaluable and I had great
admiration for him. It was there also
that I became acquainted for the first
time with a very young Lal Daly subsequently a Director of the
company. I am sure La! and others will
remember how we finished a final pour
on one of the bridges one evening by
the light of diesel soaked clods of turf
stuck on reinforcing rods which were
inselted upright around the site. It may
not have been advanced techno logy but
it got the job completed at a time when
a flood was expected .
However
difficu lties
were
overcome and by 1960 all the bogs
December 2006
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briquette factory was up and running
and Ferbane Power Station was also
working we ll. It was a great time to be
in the Bord. The summer of '59 was
brilliant and we harvested almost up to
October. We had visits from the
Russians, who photographed plenty,
but language was always a problem
unless Capt. Brunicardi was present to
translate. There were also v isits from
other organisations and individuals and
we were always proud to show what
we could do and outline what we were
hoping to achieve in the future. There
was a great spirit in the Board where all
recognized that a significant Irish
enterpri se was receiving international
acclaim. It wou ld be remiss in this trip
down memory lane not to pay tribute to
Lewis Rhatigan, the Manager who was
later to become Managing Director, for
hi s dedication to best management
practice and training and the highest
standards. Coupled with him should be
Hubert Collins, General Foreman,
whom I came to appreciate for his
knowledge and overall ability in a
demanding role. Lewis Rhatigan was
promoted to Asst Chief Engineer in
1959 and was succeeded by Maurice
Keane,
former
Manager
of
Ballydem10t
Works.
Others
I
remember with great respect were
Kieran Egan who brought such
enthusiasm to the job, Dan Davy with
whom I worked subsequently on the
Suck bogs and Christy Doolan who
was so effective in the organisation of
large scale milled peat transportation
and who worked so well with his
counterparts in the Power Station.
and soul ofBord na M6na
However I also remember the
tragedies. The first was the fatal
accident to Joe Flanagan in Drinagh in
1956 and the other was the death of
Sonny O'Donoghue in Tumduff a few
years later. They were terrible accidents
which remain in the memory of all who
saw what happened. They cast a great
shadow of sadness over everyone at
that time.
I had moved to Ferbane in 1957 and
I was a transferred to Head Office in
1960 as assistant to Tommy Lee on
milled and moss peat development
throughout Ireland. I was sorry to
depart from' The Green Fields 'round
Ferbane". I had brought a young wife
to Boora and left for Dublin with a
young wife and three children and very
good memories of Kilcormac and
F erbane. Life had moved on and there
was a new and challenging job
beckoning which would be my
challenge in life for the next 19 years
-ach sin sceal eile
*****
Dr Callanan was educated in Mount
Sion Waterford and in University
College Cork where he graduated in
Civil Engineering
After an early career in Local
Authorities, The OPW, Harbour
Commissioners and consultants he
joined Bord na M6na in Boora in 1956
He was promoted to Head Office in
1960 as Asst. Development Engineer
from which he progressed to Project
Engineer (sod peat mechanisation),
Planning Engineer, Production Control
Engineer, Chief Operations Engineer
and finally Chief Civil Engineer.
In 1974 he outlined the first plan for
The Third Programme which was
adopted by Bord na M6na as its
response to the energy crisis of that
time In 1979 he left the company to
take up the position of Director General
of The Institution of Engineers of
Ireland of which he was President in
1974
He retired from that post in 1996
but has maintained his interest in
engineering matters and is currently
President of the Irish Academy of
Engineering. ~
There was a very good team in
Boora during that period, including
Tom Oliver the Accountant, Joe
Connolly, Jim O'Boyle in Stores,
Paddy Fitzpatrick, and the ever popular
Seim
Meehan.
Also
m
the
administration were Breeda Sheridan
(later Mrs Joe Connolly) and Maura
Glynn, whom I subsequently met years
later as a sister in Mount Carme l
Hospital in Dublin.
Above all I remember the men and
women at all levels who worked in
of development,
every aspect
production, transport, sales and
admiJlistration, and who were the heart
Decel/lber 2006
John 0 'Brien:S model ofa milled peat bog in production. With the development of
further machines John upgraded the model, which even showed d(fJerenl grades of
milled peat.
p",., .
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URBANITY AND RURALITY - THE BORD NA MONA VILLAGES OF FRANK GIBNEY
BY FER GAL MAC CABE, ARCIDTECT AND TOWN PLANNER
So far as is known Frank Gibney
had no fonnal planning or architectural
training, al though there is a suggestion
that he started his career as an engineer
in Dublin 's Balbriggan. Later in his life
he became an associate member of the
Town Planning Institute and in the
1930s he prepared town plans for
Waterford, Tralee, Drogheda, Meath,
Navan, and Tu llamore, and is regarded, along with Patrick Abercrombie,
Ernest A Aston and Manni ng
Robertson, as one of the major figures
of town plal1J1ing in Ireland in the inter
war years.
In 1938 he made a submission to
the inter-departmental committee on
public works which proposed employment generating schemes, including the
building of a Dublin Civi l Airport,
cleaning the Liffey bed, riverside
promenades, cleaning public buildings,
refuse remova l, road widening, tree
planting, creation of flower gardens
and the construction of ClontarfMruine
Boulevard.
During the War years he proposed a
study toward a National Atlas dealing
with the physical, human and econom ic
aspects of the island as a whole.
Had Gibney's career ceased at that
moment it wou ld have been a sad
ending. Happily however his finest
work was ahead of him, particularly in
the 1950s when he became invo lved in
the great Post War Ho using
Programme. During the years of 1951 1958 he was working for upwards of
16 different Local Authorities and
producing designs for almost 300
houses per year, mainly in the counties
of Laois, Cavan, Offaly, Louth,
Kildare, Waterford and Kerry. This
period of his work deserves a separate
study and it is quite surprising as one
goes around the country how one
begins to recognize his distinctive style
and rea lise that his work is everywhere.
The better known examples are the
very attractive little housing scheme at
Clarecastle outside Ennis and the
scheme in Ballinasloe on the Galway
Road with its very imposing entrance
gate flanked by circular towers.
Arts tradition, the characteristics of
which included circular ring-roads,
radiating ru'terial roads, concern for the
creation of prominent public buildings
and their setting, all based on a very
Sh'uctured and hierarchical approach.
His style of p lanning and architecture
also has echoes of the English Garden
Movement
and
contains
City
references to the folk villages of the
Low Countries and Germany of the
1930s, which I believe he visited in the
inter war years. His plan forms are very
coherent, but he was also a skilled
three-dimensional artist who could
organise spatial affects and all his
designs show very sophisticated
handling of space and the use of the
various building types to give scale
frequently punctuated by landmark
buildings of unusual height or fonn.
The average pernlitted budget for
housing in that period was £800 and he
worked very skilfully within it by
providing houses that have lasted
extremely well to this day because of
their good construction and also look
quite well because of his insistence
upon the provision offeature buildings
or some design touches which elevated
them above the ordinary run of Local
Authority housing of that time.
This extraordinary workload was
apparently carried out entirely on his
own and I understand that he had only
one ass istant and produced most of the
drawings himself w hi ch lends a certain
coherence to all his work.
During the Emergency, reliance on
native fue l was im perative and the
mid land bogs becau se of the ir
prox imj ty to Dublin with access by
canal, played a great part in that drive.
Before the era of mechanisation, the
turf was cut and saved by manua l
labour and men from all over the
country came to work for Bord na
M6na and were accommodated in
hoste ls throughout the Midlands.
Wages were low at about £2 per week
but for many it was a better a lternative
than the factories of war tom England.
By the standards of the time the
accommodation was comfortable. The
food (tlu'ee fu ll mea ls a day) in
particular was wholesome and the
camaraderie was of a high order. The
camps were well run and the
remoteness of these hostels from town
or city life created their own culture
and for many, memories of the period
evokes nostalgia.
In the post war years the accelerated
deve lopment of the bogs for power
generation and briquette manufacture
commenced. This new approach with
its heavy demand on mechanisation,
didn't have the same manpower needs
and in any case the men of the hostels
were settli ng down and marrying and
Gibney had a very distinctive style
of civil design deriving from the Beaux
A quiet corner of SI Cormae's Park, Kileormae , Co. Offaly.
Page 50
December 2006
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in order to bo ld on to this workforce
more
substantia l
houses
were
necessary. Tbe dec ision was made to
provide new ho using schemes in
appropriate locations to serve the turf
development programme. In the event
seven schemes were provided at
Kilcormac, Rochfo rtbri dge, Lanesboro', Cloo ntuskelt, Derraghan, Timahoe, and Bracknagh. Other proposed
developments at Daingean, Cloghan,
Littleton , and Tima hoe North did not
proceed.
Of these Derraghan is probably the
odd one out because although it is a
very well ma nn ered small scheme of
23 roadside cottages and though far in
advance of many of the rural housing
schemes that were co nstructed in that
period, it doesn't exemplify the
characteristics
wh ich
were
to
distinguish the other six schemes.
In these schemes we see the full
flowering of Gibney's ideas. the
sources of inspi ration are varied. The
principal objective appears however to
be a concern to create a sense of
identity and p lace by means of
architectural devises such as enclosure
of spacc, civil axial planning,
prominent urban buildings and a
general sense of urbanity. This was
obviously more important in the case
of sites isolated from eXIstIng
settlements, such as Cloontuskert and
Timahoe.
I don ' t know to what extent Gibney
had contro l over the purchase of the
land but in each case he came up with
unusual , though appropriate plan form ,
to respond to even the most awkward
site. Nor am I aware of the sequence in
which the schemes were built - I think
it possible that many of them were
carried out together. In no particular
order of development these were:
Kilcormac, Offaly
December 2006
m
\:.-._.' '-_.-r:_
This scheme of l05 houses is
probably the best one to illustrate
Gibney 's approach. Its plan fonn
is based on three arcs of a
gigantic circle pierced by a
central axis. The buildings are
disposed around the spaces to
enclose them and the spaces
~..:,.."
themselves are of the most :\ '...,
generous nature. The buildings
;\
are all provided in terrace form to
\ '"
create a sense of enclosure but are
'.. '--- . - - '"
interrupted by feature houses and
'
rear access lane entrances
through arched feature buildings.
Rochfortbridge, Westmeath .
Though it might be argued that tbe
LANESBORO, CO LONGFORD
density of the scheme is wasteful , I
believe that further houses were to be
This scheme of61 houses is within
built at the rear of this site. The plans tbe village and acknowledges the
also contain a proposal for a rather existing settlement by lining up its
attractive shrine on the cenh'al axis, but central access with the spire of the
this wasn ' t proceed with. Though church opposite. As in Rochfortbridge
located on the edge of Kilcormac, the an entrance space is fOOlled flanked by
plan form of the development pays no buildings, but this has the very unu ual
heed to the village but like all of feature of a circular dwelling which is
Gibney 's schemes, a very strong sense very much a landmark. Off this central
of internal identity has been created.
axis is a loop road with single story
Again , like all the schemes I have bouses grouped around it. As in all of
examined it remains in an excellent Gibney 's schemes, there are no private
state of repair and maintenance which front gardens (though there are
is a credit to the community.
extensive rear gardens) and the
footpath is quite close to the front of
ROCHFORTBRIDGE,
the houses. I understand that in the
CO WESTMEATH
transference of the estates to private
tenants,
the open space was left in the
This design of 98 houses is
care
of
the
Local Authority so that this
somewhat similar to Kilcormac and
of the schemes remains
characteristic
consists of two principal areas of open
and
has
proved
a very attractive feature
space, an enh'ance area dividing the
as
the
grass
verge
flows uninterrscheme from the main Galway Road
which spreads its arms out to welcome uptedly from house to house and gives
the visitor into the scheme, which is the schemes an American or
then linked by a cenh'al axis to a larger, Continental feeling.
five-sided open space surrounded by
terraced buildings. The access
culminates in a feature house
containing an arched sitting area. There
i a secondary access to a side road,
which is reflected in an arched feature
on the opposite side of the scheme. The
landscaping of this scheme is ofa high
order and the general sense of identity
and place is superbly achieved. It is
probab ly the best known of these
schemes because it is on the Galway
Road. Again, because it lies well
outside Rochfortbridge, there is no
association with the village and the
scheme proposes its own identity.
CLOONTUSKERT,
CO ROSCOMMON.
This is one of the more remote
schemes about three miles from
Lanesboro
and it contains 69
dwellings. Nevertheless it is probably
one of the most urban of all and
reminds me very much of the Dutch
housing produced between the war .
The characteristic elements of
Gibney's design vocabulary are very
well expressed. An intervening area of
open space separates the frontage
houses from the main road and creates
an entrance. A central access with an
impre sive tree- lined entry an'ives at
two symmeh'ical building which I
Page 51
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sceal na M o n a - - - - - - -- - - -- - flanked by bungalows. The progression
of cw-ve into small open space, into
larger open space, the whole anchored
by the vertical tower feature is in the
best h'aditions of housing layout and
the variations of house types by the
inh'oduction oftwo-storied houses with
an arched feature gives further variety.
Possib ly some more planting of the
main open space would complete the
picture.
Bracknagh, Offaly.
Lanesboro ', Longford.
COILL DUBH, CO KILDARE
tmderstand were intended to be shops
but are now boys and girls primary
school blocks. Behind them is a site
intended for a hall, but this was never
constructed. As in Lanesboro, a loop
serves the remainder of the scheme
with the buildings set back on the
bends to give a variety of spatial
effects. The landscaping has matured
delightfully and the general impression
is of a distinct urban character in which
it is hard to imagine that you are not in
the centre of any city or town , but in
deepest Roscommon.
This is the most substantial, the most
remote and the most ambitious of all
the schemes, containing 160 houses. It
was bui lt to rep lace a previous hostel.
Of all the schemes, it was probably the
nearest to a complete village in itself,
containing schools and shops. Other
facilities such as a church, etc., were
not originally planned for but an-ived
later. Gibney prepared a master plan
and sketched out the designs of the
schools which didn't exactly arrive as
he had intended but otherwise his
vision was fully realised. The plan fonn
here is different from the others in
being more organic and less axial
but wholly successful. Again the
device used in Rochfortbridge and
Lanesboro ' of an entrance open
space, flanked by buildings, is
used , though it doesn't lead to a
central axis but meanders into the
scheme opening to the left into a
fonnal rectangle open space and
then into a large central open
space, vaguely rectangular in
form , which opened south
westward into an almost circular
group of buildings around a little
green and to the est on to another
Cloontuskert, Roscommon .
BRACKNAGH, CO OFFALY
This scheme of 50 houses is my
personal favourite. Here, the
entrance road is flanked by two
angled houses and makes a gentle
cw-ve into the scheme, arriving at a
small very urban space defined by
dwellings on three sides and with the
unusual feature ofa vertical bui lding
containing a shrine. This is attached
to a local community hall and the
scheme opens out into a teardropshaped, substantial npen space
Coil I Dubh, Kildare.
Page 52
road access. The principal formal
composition consists of an axis across
the main open space, visually linking a
most unusual four-story matched pair
of shops with living accommodation
over a feature building containing
Clu'istian and Islamic (crucifix and
arch) devices on the far side of the
green.
The tower of the school lines up
with the vista through one of the arched
buildings. The skilful way the open
space flows through this scheme, now
expanding, now contracting, maintains
constant interest and the large central
space, with its axis and strong feature
buildings give a high sense or urbanity
and identity. It must be one of the few
modern examples in Ireland of th e
creation of an entirely new village.
UNIQUE CLIENT
While Gibney's work for Local
Authorities was of the highest order,
Bord na M6na was an unique client. It
is said that the three characteristics for
good civic design are a skilled
architect, an understanding citizenry
and a powerful and benign king. This
combination gave us Leningrad,
Central Paris, and Brasilia. In Todd
Andrews Gibney found his Sun King
and however they may have felt about
it at the time, certainly the love which
the inhabitants of these villages have
subsequently lavished on their
environment indicates their pride and
satisfaction. The schemes are very
much of their time and constrained as
he was by the very tight budget,
Gibney rose above those restrictions
and working in the limited range of
native materials available in those days
of post war austerity, created a varied,
high quality environment which looks
as well today as it did 60 years ago.
These schemes are a unique and
unusual achievement and deserve to be
treasured. ~
December 2006
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KILBERRY COMPOST (GREENWASTE) PLANT
BY DR MUNOO PRASAD
The Ki lberry Compost Plant was
started main ly as a res ult of B&Q 's
policy to reduce its peat usage over the
next 5 or 6 years. This policy has the
aspiration to reduce peat usage by 90%
by the year 20 10, although there are
some doubts whether thi s is achievable
over this relative ly short period due to
technical reasons. There are two ways in
which Bord na M6na wi ll achieve this.
The first is the production of a 100%
peat-free growing med ia. Thi s is already
being done mostly at the lenkinson's
bark plants in Cumbria in the UK, in a
partnership with Bord na M6na, and a
smaller amo unt of bark is being
composted in Ki Iberry composting plant.
The seco nd is the composting of various
garden and industria l organic wastes in
order to dilute the peat with the recycled
material. In d iluting the peat, most
materials have to be pre-treated, since
untreated the material would be unstable
and this would have an adverse effect on
plant growth . Research has indicated that
the best pre-treatment is composting.
Research on the composting of garden
and park waste, also known as
greenwaste, and other organic food and
drink waste, began about 10 years ago
when ma ll pi les of green waste (up to
10m3) were composted at Teagasc
Kinsealy Research Centre as part of a
Bard na M6na research programme. The
greenwaste came frOIll St Anne's Park,
Raheny, Dublin. In addition other
materials such as brewery waste and
forestry waste were also investigated.
The trial resu lts, which were published
in international journa ls, indicated that
after the addition of certa in ingredient
composting,
compo ted
during
green waste and other organic waste
could be used as a peat diluent.
Adjustments to the carbon nitrogen ratio
were fo und to be essential for good
composting. It was also found that the
fertilisers added to the peat in the factory
would need some adjustments. Dming
the year 2004-2005 larger scale (50m3)
composting tria ls were conducted in
Kilberry and these further confirmed the
successful findings of the previous small
sca le trials. In these, and earlier trials, the
monitoring of temperature Illoi ture and
C02, were essential in order to get
proper control processes and make
adjustments where necessary. Nutrient
December 2006
One section of Kilberry's Greenwaste Plant, showing the stockpiles of compost lVhich
are undergoing treatment.
The business end of a tockpile tumel:
Page 55
- - - -- - - - - - - - -- Sceal na Mona----- - - - - - - - - measmements in the compost pile were
also essential as well as a growth trial at
the end of the composting phase to
evaluate the suitability for peat di lution.
The Kilberry Com post Plant
involves an expansive 4.2 ha asphalted
site. The plant has the capacity and
licence to compost 90,000 tonnes of
organic waste. The composting area is
securely enclosed and all the leachate
generated in composting is collected and
re-circulated. The facility is licensed by
the Environn1ental Protection Agency to
accept a range of organic materials
which includes greenwaste, byproducts
from the food and drink industry, and
byproducts from the wood processing
indushy Bord na M6na gets a modest
gate fee for accepting some of the raw
materials. Among the raw materials,
greenwaste is likely to increase in the
future due to two reasons, one is the ban
of organic material going into the landfill
sites and the second is the separate
collection of wastes from households ,
which is likely to become mandatory.
When the greenwaste arrives at
Kilberry it is shredded into material of
less than ISmm particle size. Most of
this waste comes from Dub lin area .
Other organic wastes from the food and
drink industry, or wood indush·y, that
arrive in Kilben), are generally already
in granular form and do not require
shredding. These materials, either on
their own or mixed together, are put into
windrows of approximately 700m3 and
an appropriate felii1iser is added. The
resulting mix is turned regularly using a
compost
turner,
and
regular
measmements of C02, temperature,
moisture and nutrients are carried out.
After around 10 to 16 weeks the piles are
ready for mixing with peat and larger
samples are taken for a growing trial,
stability measurements, self heating
tests, C02 release, pH, so luble salts and
complete nutrient analys is. The compost
material generally cannot be used on its
own for growing plants due to its high
salt content. The peat is generally diluted
with the composted materials after the
above tests have been positive. 0Ne have
also tested the compost for potentially
toxic heavy metals and human pathogens
and have found that they are very low or
in the case of pathogens, non existent)
The mix is screened at this stage to
eliminate oversize material. The dilution
with peat involves transferring the
screened composted Lnaterial in to
Page 56
In Newbridge
Laboratories,
Horticultural
Scientist,
Dearbhitil Ni
Chualain,
working on
some of the
specialised
equipment
associated with
composting.
The composts
quality control
processes
involve much
rigidpretesting and
growing trials.
bunkers. From the bunkers the conveyer
belts transfer the material at different
speeds which allows for adjustment in
the dilution rates. After mixing with peat
the compost is then re-screened and
mixed with the appropriate rate of
fertiliser. As a result of adding the
composted material to peat the fertiliser
formulation of the grow ing media,
previously ascertained in relation to
100% peat products, has had to be
adjusted with experimentation, and this
has resulted in significant saving in
fertiliser costs. F inall y the compost is
h·ansferred to the factory bagging plant
where it is put into loose filled bags of
various sizes, or bailed, ready for
transportation to B&Q stores in the UK
or Ireland
The success of the Kilben)' project
has been possible due to the active
support and involvement of a number of
Bord na M6na staff, including David
Keating, Commercial Manager; Jim
Kelly, Kilberry FactOl), Manager and his
staff; co-workers at the horticultural
laboratories in Newbridge and Eamon
McKay Design Engineer.
*****
Dr Munoo Prasad retired in Jun e
from the position ofBord na M6na Chief
Horticultural Scientist, he has continued
working with the Company on contract.
December 2006
- - - - - - - - - - - - - S c e a l na M o n a - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BOG BODIES - KINGSHIP AND SACRIFICE
BY EAMON P KELLY, KEEPER OF IRISH ANTIQUITIES, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND
At the end of the last Ice Age melt
water from retreating ice sheets left the
Central P lain of Ireland strewn with
shallow lakes that in time developed
into large expanses of raised bog.
Following the removal of most of the
countries woodlands in the seventeenth
centUlY, peat from the bogs became an
impoliant source of fuel and over the
next few centuries, peat cutters
encou ntered many archaeological
objects lost in the bogs or deposited
deliberately in former times. Bog finds
have included weapons, personal
ornaments, large lumps of butter and
occasionally human remains.
Bog bodies are rare survivals of
human remains from earlier times and
while many survive merely as
skeletons, the preservative properties of
bogs mean s that on exceptional
occasions the bodies are in spectacular
conditio n with hair, skin, hands,
interna l organs and other soft tissue
preserved. Such a di covery makes it
literally possib le to come face-to-face
with a person who lived millennia ago
and to see what they looked like how
they styled their hair and wore their
clothing. It is also possible to fmd
out what they ate, what
diseases they may have
suffered in life and the
manner of their deaths.
The remains of
up to one hundred
men, women and
ch ildren, dating to
all periods, have
been found in Irish
bogs
representing
acc idental deaths as well
as formal interment and
more casual disposal. Finds
of Iron Age date are of a
rather more sinister nature and
what characterises them and
sets them apart from other bog
bodies is the fact that they repre ent
ritual killings. Similar finds elsewhere
demonstrate that the Irish Iron Age
finds form pali of a broader North
Western European cultural tradition ,
Page 57
with well-known examples from
Tollund, Denmark, Lindow Moss,
England and Yde, Holland.
Despite the numbers of bog bodies
found in Ireland the discovery of well
preserved ancient remains is a
relatively rare occurrence so it was
with considerable surprise that the
National Museum learned in the spring
and early summer of 2003 of two
remarkable new discoveries. In the
debris of a peat-screening machine at
the Bord na M6na peat extraction
works in Ballivor, Co. Meath an
employee, Mick Burke, discovered the
preserved body of a young man.
Investigation indicated that it had lain
originally in a deep bog at Clonycavan
on the Meath county border with
Westmeath. Although damaged from
the waist down due to the action of a
peat-harvesting machine, the internal
organs were preserved partially. The
head was intact with a clearly
distinguishable face and a very
distinctive hairstyle. On the back of the
head the hair was cut to about 2.5cm
long with the rest of the hair, which
was about 20cm long, gathered into a
bundle on the top of his
head. Later analysis
revealed that the hair
had been held in
place by the
application of a sort of hair jell made
from resin imported from France or
Spain. Clonycavan man was of slight
build and diminutive stature and was
estimated to be no more than about 5
foot 9 inches (1.76m) tall.
By contrast a second body found a
few months later by a local man. Kevin
Barry, at Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly, was a
veritable giant estimated at about 6 feet
3~ inches (1.9Im) tall and powerfully
built. Uncovered during the digging of
a bog drain , the remains consist of a
severed torso
that
had
been
decapitated; however the surviving part
of the body was in remarkable
condition with superbly preserved
hands and internal organs still intact.
On the right aim was a plaited leather
armband with metal mounts decorated
in Celtic style.
The National Museum enlisted the
expertise of an international team of
specialists who undertook detailed
analysis of both bodies. A wide variety
of analyses was carried out including
CT and MRI scanning, palaeodietary
analysis, fingerprinting, histological
analysis, pathological assessment,
facial reconstruction, and so on.
Carbon fourteen dating indicated that
Clonycavan man lived during the
period 392-201BC while Oldcroghan
man produced a date range of 362175BC. The presence of expensive
imported resin in the hair of
Clonycavan Man indicated that he was
a high status person and this also
seemed to be the case with Oldcroghan
Man who had carefully manicured
fingernails and an absence of wear
to his hands indicative of a
The halld
of Oldc/'oglulII Mall
December 2006
- - -- - - - - - - - - - - S c eal na M6na---- - - - - - - - - -of a bog pool. Withies are ropes made
of twisted twigs and their associatio n
has been noted in connection with
some other Iron Age bog bodies suc h
as Ga llagh Man from Co. Galway who
appears to have been strangled using a
garrotte made of withies. The presence
of withies may have had a ritual
significance concerning which a
possible clue may be found in the
mytho logica l story Tain B6 Cuailnge.
The ancient tale re lates how
CuchulailID places a withy wreath over
a standing stone on the Ulster border
that invokes a powerful taboo
preventing passage of the invading
Connacht army and which ob liges
Maeve and her forces to cut a new
route through a wood. This protective
aspect of withies may have derived
from their use to make spancels to
prevent an imals being run off in cattle
raids.
Clollycavall Mall.
person who did not engage in heavy
manual work.
Scientific analysis of the chemical
constituents of hair and fingernails
provided infonnation on the diets of the
two men in the months preceding their
deaths. C lonycavan Man had a plantbased diet for four months prior to his
death with a meat-based diet fo r the
preceding eight months of the year.
This suggests that he may have died
during the autumn before the onset of a
meat-rich winter diet. By contrast
Oldcroghan Man may have died in the
winter or early spring as he ate a diet
with a substantial meat component
during the four months prior to his
death.
C lonycavan Man was killed
by a series of blows to his head and
chest, from a heavy, edged weapon,
probably an axe. He also suffered a
40cm long cut to his abdomen
suggesting disembowelment. A stab
wound to his chest killed Oldcroghan
man, however a defence-wound on one
arm indicates that he tried to fend off
the fatal assault. The deceased was then
decapitated, had his nipp les cut and his
thorax severed from his abdomen.
Withies tied through cuts made in the
upper arms may have been employed
to fasten down the body to the bottom
It was noted that both Oldcroghan
Man and C lonycavan Man were
located on significant boundaries,
which prompted an important new line
of research. The indications are that
many modern boundaries have a
remarkab le antiquity, and that barony
boundaries in particular appear in many
instances to coincide with ancient tribal
boundaries. Four other dated Irish finds
of Iron Age bog bodies were found to
be located on sign ificant boundaries
with up to forty probable Iron Age bog
bodies in total that appear to fit the
same pattern. Some of the finds
consisted on ly of body parts such as
decapitated heads and severed limbs,
suggesting that some bodies, such as
that of Oldcroghan man, were
dismembered for interment at a number
of different places along tribal
boundaries.
The deposition of bodies along
boundaries might be interpreted as
having a protective function and whi le
this may have been partly the case, a
range of other Iro n Age material
uncovered a long bo und aries suggests
that one is dealing primarily with
sovereig nty rituals associated with
sacral
kings hip
and
king ly
inauguration. In the pagan era, as part
of the king's sacred marriage to the
telTitorial earth godd ess, it would
appear that obj ects associated with
inaugu ration ritua ls were buried on
tribal boundaries as a statement and
definition of the king's sovereignty.
The presence of items of harness,
yo kes and parts of wheeled vehicles,
suggest that candidates for kingship
rode in procession to the place of
inaugu ration.
Cauldrons and drinki ng vessels
were the objects associated with a feast
that was an integral part of the
ceremony whi le horned headdress;
collars, torcs, armlets, pins and fibulae
provide evidence of the nature of
kingly regalia. The votive deposition of
bog butter, quem stones, plough parts
and in one instance a sickle are all
reminders that a central function of the
marriage of the king to the earth
goddess was to ensure the fertility of
the land and we ll-being of the people
who were dependant for survival on
reliable yields of corn , mi lk and mi lk
products. These finds may also give an
important context to the final meal of
Oldcroghan Man that consisted of
cereals and butterm ilk.
What few references we have to
human sacrifice in early Irish written
sources link the practice to the god
Crom D ubh who is associated with
Oldcrogitun Man.
Page 58
Decelllber 2006
---------------------------Scealna~6na--------------------------­
Lughnasa, the Ce ltic harvest festival. This
associatio n may provide a religious context for
the killings that, at a practical level , may
represent the execution of royal hostages to
ensure the co mpliance of subordinate lords or
the elimination of rivals for kingship. That
Oldcroghan man may have been a fai led
candidate fo r k ingshi p, or perhaps even a
deposed king, is imp lied by the fact tbat bis
nipp les were cut thus rendering him ineligible
for kingship. Tb is is because the suckling of a
king's nipp les was an important gesture of
submissio n by s ubordinates, and the stylised
representation of breasts and nipples on the
terminals of go ld gorgets indicates that this was
a custom that extended as far back as the Late
Bronze Age at least. The rich field of research
prompted by the discovery ofOldcroghan Man
and Clonycavan Man is continuing and many
further important discoveries may lie in store.
BEST BORD NA MONA-RELATED
NOVEL OF THE DECADE
"You surely have no difficulty remembering what the
bagger was like as it caterpillared out on the Midlands bog,
all iron bulk and cautious approach, brandishing tooth and
blade, tearing open the spring bog with its shaft of knife
sharp buckets. Deep goes the shaft to plunge and plunder the
oozy peat. .....
And we followed in the wake of the bagger, like hungry
seabirds. From Kerry and Donegal we followed, from Clare
and Mayo, all the lean counties along the west coast of
Ireland. And by summer we were scattered out across the
turfbank in clutches and clusters, picking sustenance from
the execration of the bagger, rejoicing in our victory over
want, making the earth our own .. ."
A spec ia l exh ibition entitled "Kingship and
Sacrifice" is cun-ently on display in tbe National
Museum, K ildare Street, Dublin. Thi s
exhibition co ntai ns four bog bodies including
the two recent finds from Clonycavan and
Oldcroghan. Also on disp lay are other finds
from bogs that he lp to prov ide insigbts into the
rituals invo lved in the sacrifice of the men
entombed in the bogs. The exhibition is open
free, from Tuesday to Saturday (lO.OOam 5.00 pm) and on Sundays from 2.00pm - Spm.
The museum is closed on Mondays.
A womall attendillg the exhibitioll
whispered to her friend, ill knew a bogmall
who had hands like that", alld didll 't we all.
December 2006
COlmnissioned by Sligo County Council and funded by
the Per Cent Art Scheme of the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Jack Harte's
wonderful book. "In the Wake of the Bagger" (above) is a
masterpiece. Writing with the ease of a master storyteller,
Jack, who also contributed the following article to Sceal na
Mana, has ensured that the generations that follow will also
remember the bagger with nostalgia as many within Bord
na Mana fondly do. Published by Scotus Press, Jack's book
is a bargain at € 9.95 - the best Bord na Mana-related novel
of the decade!
- - -- - - - - - - - - - - Sceal na M6na---- - - - - - - - - - I chose the title "In the Wake of the
Bagger", for my novel oflife in the Fifties
and Sixties, knowing that it wou ld have
the desired air of mystery. Only those of a
certain age, from a certain area of the
country, would know what a bagger was.
How the great are fa ll en! The hu lking
mechani al monster that created a social
and industrial revolution in rura l Ireland,
that hatmted Oll[ chi ldllOod imaginations,
has lumbered off long ago into the
shadows of history. And so has the
stripper. Who now remembers the humble
stripper? We had them on the bogs around
Lanesboro' when StringfeUow was still an
altar boy! And the collector? The list goes
on.
I was told once by someone from a
"bog" background that her nighhl1ares
always centred on the dragl ine. I can see
how someone could be ten"orized by an
out-of-control dragline, with perhaps a
dernented driver. Still it was the bagger
that haUllted my dreams and my
imagination.
My family was one of the fIr st to
uproot and move to the Midlands when
Bord na M6na offered not only jobs but
also accommodation back in the 1950s.
My father was a blacksmith in the
townland of Killeenduff in Co Sli go. His
trade was in decline as horses were be ing
replaced by tractors on Irish falms. So he
took the drastic decision to close the forge
and seek a job elsewhere. He tried his luck
in Dublin for a while but eventua lly got
employment with Bard na M6na in
Mountdillon, together with lodgings in the
hostel right beside the service yard.
When he came back to Killeendufffor
the occasional weekend he was full of
stories of the men who were sharing the
accommodation , men from all corners of
the country. In the summer they were
joined by hundreds of seasonal workers,
students, casua l laboLU"ers. My father was
a Gaelic footballer and played for the
Sligo County team. So it appeared that he
and hi s mates played football every
evening after work, trained, organized
matches against other Works teams . And
he told us about it all - many times. I'm
sure 1 could name most of the men who
played on the Mountdillon Works team in
the 1950s if I h"ied: let's see, the three
Donoghues (unrelated) Paddy, Tom and
Jim; three Paddys (also unrelated), Best,
Kilcommons and Hanrahan , with my
father thrown in , that's enough for a
seven-a-side anyway.
FOOTING
THE TURF
BY JACK HARTE
To secure the long-term services of
their workforce, the Bord went on to bu ild
vill ages near the bogs. There were tlll"ee
such villages, or housing estates, around
Lanesboro' and my father was allocated a
house in one of them, The Green. I have
clear memori es of travelli ng up in a hired
lorry, crossing the Shannon, arriving in
thi s newly bui lt housing estate with all but
two of the houses still empty.
I don ' t know whether it was part of the
Bord's intention, but the large families that
moved into these houses prov ided the
seasonal workforce they needed, and
quickly rep laced the casual workers and
students who had previously flooded into
the hostel every summer.
Footing the turf was the major task
every year. The bagger left behind row
upon row of sods, miles of neat rows,
soggy, with the consistency of toothpaste.
When they dried out they were rock hard,
but sometimes over a wet summer they
remained as soft as toothpaste. So the
weather
maintained
a
brooding presence over those
summers, over the bog, over
our lives.
I was out footing turf on
the bog from the beginning,
sometimes in Mountdillon,
occasionally in Derryhaun,
but mostly in Derraroge. The
miles of spread turf were
divided into plots. There were
about sixty rows of double
sods in each plot, a row
stretching from the trench to
the turf clamp, a distance of
fifty to sixty yards. That was a
lot of turf, but the rate for
footin g a p lot was extremely
attractive and was incentive
enough to help us endure the
backache and the tedium of
such a repetitive activity.
It became a family
occupation, and so our
neighbours on the Green were
around us on Derraroge bog
all summer. A family or an
individual would take a plot
by setting up a few footings.
There was a number on each plot inscribed
on the small lath that marked off one plot
from the next, and the chargehand made a
note of who took the p lot. If the plot was
good - dly sods well separated on an even
bank - you could foo t the turf easi ly and
rap idly. Footing involved lifting the spread
turf sods and building them into li tt le
sh'uctures that would enabl e them to dry
full y. You placed two sods on the ground,
a few in ches apart, then laid two more
crossways on them, continuing ul1ti l you
had built up five or six pairs in the
structure.
But there were bad plots too. Where
there was a soft spot or a dip in the bank
the spread-aim of the bagger would drop
the rows on top of one another, so that they
were d ifficu lt to separate, and the wet
ground wou ld keep the sods from drying.
Such a p lot would take far longer to foot,
and so you did your best to avoid it. The
us ual p loy was to head for the fire to wet
your tea, and hope that someone else had
taken it by the time you got back.
The fire was speciall y lit in the bottom
of the trench and was maintained by a
fireman. It was always a consoling sight
to see the smoke of the fire curling up out
of the trench - on windy days there was
no fire allowed, and the frreman hoi sted a
YOU CAN HAVE WORK
NOW
(AT TURF HARVESTING)
FOOTING and COLLECTING
YIELD HIGH EARNINGS
Immediato employment is availabl. for
workers between the ages of 18 and 55 at:
Tigh N«huo
Baile Ohiormcdo
Glaise 80n
Cluain Sosto
Cnoc Oioluin
reor Rcbtftstown, Co. Kildore
"
11
Rothcngon, Co. Kildare:
Edendcrry, Offaly
If
Portorlington. Leois
"Lonesboro', Co. Longford
Applicants may ~pply in parson to any of
tho above Work, or the nearest Employmont
exchan,e Office. or by letter to: Bard ".
Monl, 26 Low., Hotch Str ••t, Dublin.
Free Travel Warrants will be provided from
any part of I reland to the bus stop or railway
station nearest Works to se1ected applicants.
Board and comfortable accommodation can ba
provided if required .t Hostels adja,ent to
the.e Works at 38/6 pcr week.
~BORD
NA MONA
A Bard na M6na advertisement ofJuly 1955
Page 60
Dece/llber 2006
---------------------------Scealna~6na--------------------------flag instead. A barrel of water was placed near the fire, so you
tilled up your billy-can and placed it in the fire to boil,
sometimes jostling with others for a hot spot. Tea, and indeed
all food, tasted exotic on the bog, and was particularly sweet
when you were killing time talking to the fireman or
exchanging banter with other shysters.
Competition was intense and reputation s were made at
footing. Ach ievement cou ld be measured in terms of rows or
plots footed in specified time with callous accuracy. I and my
family were at the bottom of that scale of achievement. The
family team that exce ll ed and put the rest of us to shame was
the Gilmores. The individual who achieved legendary status
was Ned Tynan, and his incomparable deeds are still recounted
in awe. A heroic achiever of my own generation was Norbert
Ward who pitted himself against the great Tynan and wasn't so
far behind even though he was a mere stripling of fifteen or
sixteen years of age.
It must be hard for someone to imagine the appearance of
the bog as it was then by looking at the deserts of milled peat
on today's bog-scapes. The proliferation of people, men women
and children, created the image of a great carnival. It being
SUlTUller, bright shirts and dresses were visible for miles against
the background of brown . The locos were constantly trundling
up and down the tracks bringing wagon loads ofturfto the tiphead where lon·ies were loaded mainly for the Dublin market.
And if the weather was really good, the collector might be hard
on the heels of the laggard footers, the phalanx of men in front
ofthe long conveyor belt dumping in the footings.
But the busy bee engineers who had created the bagger and
the stripper to run in front of it preparing the bank, were hard
at work inventing other machines to replace
the labour force. The first to go automatic was
the collector. There were rumours they were
working on a machine to do the footing as
well. But we scoffed - it wasn't possible,
footing would always have to be done by
hand. Then th is tractor with an enormous
sp iked drum appeared, and we knew they
were serious about replacing us .
However, by the time the footing was
eventually phased out the families had grown
up. Chi ldren had become young adults with
jobs or apprenticesh ips. Some were still
foll owing the we ll-worn path to England and
two of my sisters settled for a while in
London . But opportunities were opening up
in Dublin and tbat was wbere I went. At one
stage I had a flat near C lanbrasil Street and
took great pleasure in going down to
McHemy's yard to buy my bag of twf. I saw
the first of the turf and now I was seeing the
last of it. ~
December 2006
Papp(i l
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sceal na M 6 n a - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PEATLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SINCE 1999: ARCHAEOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES EXCAVATIONS AND SURVEYS
BY JANE WHITAKER
Archaeological
Development
Services (ADS) Ltd has been the
Archaeological Consultant to Bord na
Mana (BnM) since 1998 and to date
over one hundred and eighty
excavations have been canied out in
the Counties of Longford, Offaly, and
Weshneath as pati of BnM's
Mitigation
Project.
The
sites
excavated
have
varied
from
substantial plank h"ackways to smaller
more enigmatic brushwood platform
sites, and have ranged in date from the
Neolithic to the Late Medieval
Periods.
ADS Ltd has also canied out
several peatland surveys during this
time for both BnM and the
Department of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Govemment (DOE
H & LG) in the BnM bogs of Kildare,
Laois, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Offaly
and Tipperary.
Archaeological monitoring and
testing work as well as EIS reports
have also been done on behalf of
BnM, Roadstone and the ESBI in
several indush"ial bogs around the Irish
midlands.
In 2002 ADS produced a document
collating and evaluating all existing
archaeological data from BnM Bogs
from these and earlier projects on
behalf of DOE H & LG.
providing the quickest route between
areas of myland. The trackways are
relatively straight and appear to ignore
the topography in most cases; more
wood was simply added over areas of
localised wetness.
The later time periods were
dominated by small brushwood
platform sh"uctures and short lengths
of
trackway
which
indicate
exploitation of the wetland resources
probably in the fOlm of hunting hides.
Lemanaghan has a rich and diverse
selection of dryland monuments
around the bog margins. These range
from enclosures to ringfOlis and
cashels, the Lemanaghan ecclesiastical
site, and tower houses, showing a
continuity of population presence in
the area. Modem dates for some small
brushwood sites in Corhill Bog, and
historical references to horseback
hunting passes, show that bog
exploitation and utilisation continued
into more recent times.
The stray find of a stone axe was
the only Neolithic find of the 19 stray
finds from the area, while the
remainder include a flint scraper, Early
Christian and medieval leather shoes,
a whetstone, a crozier, 14 silver coins
and various wooden artefacts. The
stray finds and the Bronze and Iron
Age sites from the Lemanaghan Bog
complex, combined with the extensive
Early Christian and Later Medieval
sites, display a constant, however
sporadic occupation of the greater
Lemanaghan area from prehistoric to
modem times.
Mountdillon excavations
The Mountdillon bogs were resurveyed by ADS in 1999 and the sites
were subsequently excavated between
2001 and 2002. The results of these
field seasons are cunently in press
(Whitaker,
forthcoming).
Two
Neolithic sites were excavated by
ADS in Lough Bannow 3 Bog, both of
which were relatively nanow
structures composed of longitudinally
placed rods of brushwood and
roundwood and the structures were all
located in relatively nanow sh"etches
of bog, providing access to areas of
arable dryland on either side. The
majority of wood species used in the
trackway constructions were read ily
available in the bog margins.
Seven Bronze Age sites were
Lemanaghan Excavations
During the 1999/2000 field seasons 41
sites were excavated in Castletown,
Corhill, Derrynagun, Killaghintober
and Tumbeagh Bogs in the
Lemanaghan area of the Boora
complex. The site types varied
considerably from distinctive single
plank trackways to brushwood tracks
and smaller platform structures" The
large plank trackways that are Bronze
Age and Early Christian in date
indicate a desire or need then to
traverse the bog. Like many of the
modern roads they are located in the
nanowest crossing points, thus
Page 66
The ADS Archaeologists unearth an anthropomorphic artifact in Cloncreen Bog.
December 2006
excavated by ADS in Denycolumb 5,
Derrycolumb 4, Derrycolumb 3, and
Begnagh Bog. The sites of this period
are of several form and construction
types, from a longitudinally laid
roundwood togher, to transversely laid
brushwood and roundwood toghers, a
large p lank trackway, platform
of
sh"uctures
and
an
area
archaeo logical wood. This shows
more of a variety of site types,
compared with the sites excavated in
Lemanaghan. The absence here of
visible
Bronze
Age
dryland
monuments is in direct contrast with
the peatland archaeological record.
When the results from both ADS and
Professor Bany Raftery 's projects are
combined, there have been over fifty
sites excavated from this period alone,
showing a significant population
presence dming the Bronze Age in the
general Mountdillon area. This
population expansion is also apparent
in pollen diagrams for the area
(Raftery
1996),
which
show
unequivoca l evidence for large-scale
woodland clearance between 2,000
and 1,000 BC. The only datable
recorded sh"ay find from this period is
a bronze dagger from Derrynagran
townland, while the only excavated
artefact (a possible cart fragment)
came from the ADS excavation of a
large plank trackway in Denycolwl1b
5 Bog.
The Iron Age was the foremostrepresented period evidenced dming
the ADS excavations, with the period
of 400-200 BC showing the highest
concenh"ation of activity. Both
Derrycolumb 5 and Derrycolumb 3
bogs have several sites concentrated
within this latter period, which was not
represented at all in Prof. Raftery 's
earlier excavations. These sites, a
combination of togher and platform
structures in both bogs, show the
bygone need for h'aversing and
exploiting the bogs in question and
therefore are suggestive of dry land
activity in the immediate area perhaps focusing on Fenyman island .
During the ADS mitigation project
only two toghers dating to the Early
Christian peliod were excavated in the
Mountdillon Group, these were in
Decelllber 2006
A Bronze Age plank trackway in Clonad Bog.
Derrycolumb 3 and Begnagh Bogs.
Both toghers were nanow in width
and constructed of roundwood and
brushwood rods and neither was
traced for any great length. The
absence of later dated sites may be
due, in part to the intensive
production of the peatlands in the
Mountdillon area, which have been
W1der industrial production since the
early 1940s. Medieval and Later
Medieval Artefacts have been
recorded from the bogs in this area
indicating that it is likely that the bogs
were traversed or utilised dming all
the time periods up to modem times.
DERRYGREE AGH EXCAVATIONS
Excavations have been carried out in
six bogs in the Derrygreenagh group
since 2002. Along with the site types
previously known from the earlier
excavations,
the
work
in
Derrygreenagh has added greatly to
the variety of site types contained
within Irish Peatlands . An unusual
stone enclosme was excavated in
Ballybeg bog in 2002, along with
previously wrrecorded site types that
incorporated the use of natural
woodland remains in the form of
platforms arranged alongside tree
stumps. In 2003 dming the excavation
of twenty five trackways and
platforms in Cloncreen Bog four
carved
alder
anthropomorphic
artefacts were also found in close
proximity. Two of these had been
identified, partially expo ed on the
field smface dming the survey work
the previous season. All had a carved
'neck' and notches along their lengths
with tapered ends. Their function
remains uncertain but similar finds
have been recorded from peatlands in
Denmark,
Germany
and
the
Netherlands, to all of which has been
attributed a ritual purpose.
A multi layered Medieval site
excavated in Daingean Bog in 2005,
which was located close to two Early
Christian plank trackways and
composed of locally sourced gravel
and stones as well as wood, showed
adaptation and the utilisation of
resources.
As well as these new site types,
interesting parallels can seen from all
areas. As mentioned above, single
plank walkways identified in the early
Mountdillon excavations have also
been excavated in the Blackwater,
Lemanaghan and Derrygreenagh
bog . A substantial transversely laid
Bronze Age plank trackway, excavated
in Cion ad bog in 2004, is very similar
in construction and date to one
excavated by Prof. Raftery and the
PaRe 67
IAWU in AnnacolTib, Co. Galway.
The brushwood platfonns first
identified in the Lemanaghan bogs
111
the
were also
identified
Derrygreenagh Group.
Discussion
Early wetland excavations, before the
BnM mitigation project, concentrated
on the investigation of large trackway
sites and intensive zones of
archaeological
activity.
While
subsequent and intensive fieldwalking
surveys of the BuM industrial
peatlands have greatly increased the
numbers of sites, and have defined
archaeological zones around the
midlands, this type of survey is only
limited to the objectives of identifying,
tracing and recording such sites. It is
only through excavation that a greater
understanding of the nature of these
sites may truly be gained. The
ADS/BuM excavations have given a
greater insight into the date,
classification and wider archaeological
context of peatland sites. While there
are similar sites in all bog areas, the
variety of site types appear to vary a
little from region to region, perhaps
indicating localised response to
environmental conditions and use of
the peatlands.
To date over 180 excavations have
been carried out by ADS in twenty
BnM bogs in the production groups of
Mountdillon, Lemanaghan, Blackwater and Derrygreenagh. These
excavations have greatly expanded our
knowledge of the extent of peatland
use by past societies. It is envisaged
that as the mitigation work continues,
excavations and post excavation
analysis will continue to add to our
knowledge and understanding of the
wider archaeological landscapes in
both the peatlands and their
surrounding areas.
The top picture here is of an Early
Christian
plank
trackway
in
Killaghintober Bog. In the second
picture
is a Bronze Age plank
%trackway in Derrycoloumb bog.SIp
Page 68
December 2006
-
. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - S c e a l na Mona--- - - - - - - - - - - - -
EARLY DAYS: THE KILDARE SCHEME AND THE TURF CAMPS
BY MAUREEN GILL-CUMMINS
The first real progress with regard
to utilizing the bogs took place in 1933
when C.S."Todd" Anch'ew became an
official of I-he Department of Indushy
and Commerce and estab lished cooperative tmf societie on a county
basi to promote the production and
harvesting of hand-cut turf. and
facilitate its direct sale by the
producers. In that year 33 societies
registered, followed by another 124
the follow ing year. The societies met
with varying degrees of success, but
by J 940 134 which had failed to make
their returns were cancelled. In 1934
the Turf Development Board (TDB)
had been set up to take charge of the
societies . The new company was
financed by grants and worked under
the general direction of the
of
Industry
and
Department
Commerce . Two even ts however
occulTed in 1935 which were to have a
decisive influence on future bog
develop men t policy. Turraun peat
works in West Offaly, which had been
establish ed in 1924 to produce
machine tu rf, was ha nded over to the
TDB by its founder, Sir John Purser
Griffith, for the estimated value of its
fuel stocks (£6,500) . At the same time
a delegation was sent to the continent
to study German and Russian methods
and its report recommended that the
German system of machine turf
production (similar to tha t emp loyed
at Turraun by Purser Griffith) be
adopted, whilst the methods used in
Russia should be kept under
observation .
of
these
On
the
basis
recommendations the TDB acqu ired
two Midland bogs in 1936 - a raised
bog of some 4,000 acres at Clonsast in
Co Offaly and a small mountain
blanket bog at Lyreacrumpane, in Co
Kerry. These bogs were cleared and
drained and provided with rai lways,
machines, workshops and offices.In
JanualY 1937 the Irish Press extolled
the operations of the turf development
at Clonsast, predicting that eventua ll y
one hundred thousand tons of machine
turf would be obtained from there by a
regular workforce of 600 Hlen. The
Page 70
same report noted that the government
was detennined to develop Irish
resources until the nation wouldn't
have to depend on outside somces for
its fuel supply. The readers of the Irish
Press could hardly have realized that
soon this policy would become a
significant necessity.
Labour supply, wage rates, hidden
timber and sinking machines were
some of the problems which were
being encountered and overcome by
the TDB when World War IT broke out
in 1939. By that time Clonsast Works
had only received half of its
compliment of turf cutting machines
from its German suppliers but
nevertheless machine turf was
produced at Clonsast, Turraun, and
Lyrecrompane throughout the War
years.
As well as making the purchase of
machinery impossible, the War
hindered the large-scale expansion of
machine-turf output. Imported fuel s
were virtually unobtainable, so the
energies of the TDB were devoted to
overcoming the fuel s shortage by
produci ng large quantities of handwon turffor distribution in Dublin and
the eastern counties. The most
concentrated attempt to exploit the
resources of the bogs took place
during this period; thousands of acres
of bog were purchased by the TDB
and by 1941 around 1000 bogs were
being worked in every county in the
Repub lic . In 1941-42 a new element
was inh'oduced in the self-sufficiency
fue l campaign, known as the "Kildare
Scheme".
The Scheme was set up to supply
Dublin with fuel from an area
covering 250 square miles situated
between Enfield, Edendeny and
Newbridge. One of the major
prob lems was an inadequate labour
supp ly in these areas so the answer lay
in attracting workers from all over
Ireland
and
offering
them
accommodation. Fourteen residential
camps, each with a capacity for 500
workers, were built by the Office of
Public Works and equipped with
catering, sanitary and recreational
faci liti es . The camps set up in north
Kildare and east Offaly were located
at Kill inthomas, Shean, Lullymore
Lodge, Drummond, A ll enwood,
Corduff 1, Corduff 2, Corduff 3,
Robertstown,
ewbridge
and
Edenderry. Todd Andrews described
the firm of caterers which had been
hired to handle the food supply as
being hopelessly inadequate and the
TDB was forced to take on the job of
producing 12000 meals daily without
any knowledge of what was involved.
Guidance was sought from the army,
but their advice proved unhelpful and
Andrews remarked that "the daily
WAGES SALARY RECEIPT.
T1IIf IDElMUIT - . LTD. (CLOIII.ST).
?J_.~. ___ . __. . . _. . . . . _. . . ... _. . .. .
_
.. \':lL\-·I.
~:e:ls~:~; ~:;.~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -.~~-~.:~--=~::=~~~:~~:::::.: : : : ::_ :~::: : : : : : : : : I 0 ~1,
Employee's Name ... ...
A
..
_Rank._ ... _.........._ ........... _........... "...."
"2-/
TU- -
.1
'L
..
___ _ lr.t:bo::r:~~.±ch _ _ _/T;~e)_~__
.______ j,)__ .Hoors at...-f---::: f1.- - --. - . I'9- -t
-,,----.. ------...
Ho.
Remarks
(Office only).
-~..------- - - I---·~I-_l
Q-oss Amount ........... " ___ "_ ..... __ _
Add Expenses (it any)
" -- -
., --'I-+ri:'!:"'l=~=~==~=:-:::n-:7=-::-;:;~1
I" /I T his Receipt must be SIgned aIldreturned (AUocatablo).
,I- '7-- -'1
- H
ealth
-and Pensions Insurance -: . . . - . .. . . -fl7?;i"
Unemployment Insurance
-. Tools, etc.
.
. . !. . . . . . . . -1---..
; "/ _ .... .LJJ.
~~
. '................---.... -.. -c;,;;;hich~q_.;_~·..·._._._._·
imr.:ledi ately to P aying Offic~. ·
7
I
I
.- ... ..... j............... .
I'.
I
i . . . . :~. . . . . . -..
. . . ... _...I-- '···r··
I
i.
! ........ )-.. --.........
7b
_
D
I adcnowfed,. Receipt or Amount
AI detailed.
"'1.4/2
dJ
/
........r·
J
_ . . . . ...... •
131"0 .. D~~:~~ .......... -.... · ~i-I-
The wages docket of one William Ha wkes, who worked jor the TwfDevelopment
Hoard at Clonsast and stayed in the Hostel there in Jun e 1941.
Decelllber 2006
<
- -- - -- - - - - - - - S c e a l na M 6 n a - - - - - - - - - - - -rations of a soldier were no more that
a daisy in a bull 's mouth to men doing
eight hOUTS a day of heavy bog work".
After a few months of occupation the
camp buildings were reduced to
conditions more typical of refugee
camps, due main ly to the lack of
proper regul ations and internal camp
discipline. With the appointment of
Bill Stapleton , a man who had
experience of this type of industrial
colonization, radical improvements
took place. As chief hostel supervisor
and catering manager Stapleton set
about organi zi ng the running of the
camps on more socially acceptable
lines. Rations were virtually doubled,
trained cooks and kitchen staff were
hired and orderlies appointed to serve
meals, make beds and clean up
generally. A proper medical service
was provided, w ith a medical orderly
based at each camp, concerts were
organised together with theatre and
football competitions, and each camp
was provided with its own library.
Fear of ecclesiastical disapproval
prevented the TDB from employing
fema le help in the camps for a number
of years. However, due to the type of
outdoor work associated with the turf
industry, women workers were always
velY much in the minority.
In the summer of 1942 agricultural
and turf workers both received 33
shillings a week, but following a series
of sh·ikes by turf workers in 1942,
Hugo Flinn, The Turf Controller,
increased
thei r wages in 1943 to
thirty eight sh ill ings. As turf workers
were often on piece-rates they could
eam extra money and have more free
time than agricultural workers, so
many labourers preferred to work on
the tmf schemes. The work was very
strenuous however, and the men
earned their money by the sweat of
their brow, draining the bog and handcutting the tmf. A report in the Leinster
Leader in May 1942 tells of 140
workers from Dublin arriving in
Edenderry in five GSR buses on a
Monday morning and they were
cheered through the sh·eets as they
made their way to the camp, formerly
know as the Edenderry Union. Men
~·o.m Ga lway and Mayo were already
lIVIng there. Nine of the Dub lin men
after experiencing about an hour '~
December 2006
A Heseper Bagger at Clonsast in the early 1940s
work on the bog, gathered their
belonging and started walking back to
the city on Tuesday, a journey of 37
miles, and seventy-five left the
following Wednesday.
Workers received free travel
vouchers to come to the camps, but if
they left of their own accord, or were
dismissed, they had to find their own
way home. The remainder of the
Dublin workers, as well as the men
from Galway and Mayo, gave notice
of their intention to leave at the end of
the week unless conditions improved.
The sample day 's ration for a turf
worker, which was displayed in the
Oireachtas restaurant that Wednesday,
was as follows:
"Breakfast: two rashers, one egg, two
large potatoes. six slices of bread and
butter.
Lunch: Slice of beef, one egg, six
slices of bread and butter.
Dinner: a chop, vegetables, and eight
potatoes. "
Reporting on the Dublin men still in
the camp, the TDB engineer said he
thought the majority of them were
willing workers but velY unfamiliar
with bog work and that it would be
some week before anything like an
economic output could be expected
from them.
At Newbridge, the military
balTacks, which for over a century had
housed the cavalry and artillery units
of the British Army was leased by the
Board of Works to the TDB for use as
a workers' camp. Newbridge housed
and fed about 600 men who were
transported to and from their work at
Ballyteague, Allen, Clongorey or other
neighboming bogs by lorry each day.
The accounts staff which was need to
deal with the large workforce, not only
in Newbridge but in the other Kildare
camps were housed at the barracks and
dances and parties were occa ionally
held in what were the old artillery
dining halls. All the bog tools such a
the shovels, sleims, and rubber boots
were stored in the old barrack prison
and sports competitions were held
each year on what was formerly the
barrack parade ground. By 1948 both
the workers and office staff at
Newbridge were transferred to new
Works hostels which had been built at
several of the local bogs and the main
barrack blocks were demolished in
two stages during 1948-9 and later in
1975.
Not all the camps were located in
existing buildings
some were
purpose-built such as the one at
Corduff south in County Kildare (later
called Timahoe South), built in 1942.
It comprised of twelve billets; six on
either side of a field which was used
as a playing pitch. The camp contained
a cookhouse, dining hall, recreation
hall, kitchen and orderly taffbillets a
camp office, a superintendent's
quarters and a small mes room. There
was also a shower room and a drying
room, which consisted of a billet with
a couple of large stoves and helving
Page 71
- - -- - - - - - -- -- - Sceal na M6na------- - - - - - - - where the men could dry their clothes.
In each billet there were 24 beds with
army-type trestles and bed boards, a
mattress, four blankets and a pillow.
There was a stove in the centre of each
billet principally for heating, but it
was also used for making a can of tea
or frying a pan of sausages and
rasher . These snacks were necessruy
as there was a strict rationing system
maintained in the camps because of
the emergency regu lations.
The TDB magazine An Slean,
provides an insight into life at the
camps and the interaction between the
various camps and the local towns.
Tug-o'wru' and inter-camp races were
prevalent as were hurling and football
matches with local teams. An annual
turf cutting competition was held
between the camps and this was a big
occasion since great rivalry existed
between the different camps and
winning this title was held in great
esteem.
Improvements
in
general
conditions, like replacing the old bed
boards with spring mattresses,
refurbishing the recreation halls, and
the provision of a mobile cinema, were
described in the magazine in g lowing
detail. Accounts were also given of the
other fOlms of recreation avai lab le in
the camps . These include, for
example, the Radio Eireann Question
Time Competition, which was
broadcast from the Odeon Cinema in
Newbridge in December 1944. Two
teams of six people - representing
Newbridge and the TDB, took part;
the eventual winner was one of the
Newbridge contestants. Irish classes
were organized in the camps where it
was decided that simple everyday
phrases should be taught and that
grammar should be introduced
gradually. Sufficient textbooks were
purchased to enable the distribution of
one book between two men.
This photograph, and the programme below, are relics of the happy side of life in
early Bord na Mono .
winners at the Droichead Nua Drama
Festival with their presentation of
"The Down Express" and they later
brought their play on a successful tour
the camps.Dances were often held in
the camps: An SleCJI1 carries an account
of a dance held in Corduff camp where
"the fair sex was velY well represented
- some coming from as far away as
Sallins, Clane and Naas". Many of the
workers frequented the local bars at
weekends and during periods of bad
weather. A stOlY appeared on the
Leinster Leader about two Kerrymen
who had consumed a quantity of drink
and on their return to the Robertstown
camp for their evening meal objected
to the food and caused a minor riot.
.r--' -~ '
The Kildare wartime Emergency
Scheme ended in 1947 and despite
initial labour and organisational
problems, it worked well. Between
1942-47 over a ha lf mi llion tons of
hand-won turf were delivered to
Dublin. This turf was transported
partly by canal, partly by train and
partly by army lorries and stored in
what used to be called the "Long
Straight"(from the Grand Prix racing
days) in the phoenix Park. The Long
Straight then became known as "the
new bog road". ~
- - -- -, - - - - ; - - - - -
--- - -.- - -~
. 'BO(\O NA MONA,
DUBLIN
-.. "*
Interaction between the camp
residents and the local communities
was quite developed. In December
1945 the Leinster Leader carried a
report of how the Rathangan Dramatic
Society staged their play, "Paid in His
Own Coin" to a capacity audience at
the Allenwood turf camp, and in June
1946 the TDB Players ','v'ere the
ANN U A .L
STAFF DANCE
·",:.ou are r~pectfc Jly requested
to co·operate witf; t he committee by taking slJpper at the
time indicated on your supper
ticket . ' .. please.
Nas 'na Riogh
Ballroom
FrIday, %BIb No.em"'" 1947
I
~*douvenn--~
Page 72
-
Potatoes were thrown about, furniture
upset, w indows were broken, the
tables went up in the air and the Gardai
were called in to restore order.
-
... --~
----
c9?-oorarnrne
o
.
- - -' ~~------------' -
---'
December 2006