BBC Documentary - "Open Country" - Ireland - Peat

Click to listen to a great documentary about the history and culture of Irish peatlands. Thanks to Dermot Kearney for finding this and passing it along.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01lv4p6/Open_Country_Ireland_Peat/

Fred Kearney, one of the people interviewed, has been our guide at the Corlea Trackway Centre in Longford. Here's Fred as he began our tour:

And a few more pictures of the Corlea Trackway, a 2,000-year-old bog road that was excavated about 20 years ago, and the boardwalk outside the museum, showing what the trackway might have looked like centuries ago. 

Near the trackway centre, people are still cutting turf for fuel...

The documentary talks about the controversy surrounding turbary rights, that is, the right to cut turf on your own property. It's an issue that's more and more pressing as Ireland's peatlands continue to dwindle, mostly because of industrial-scale peat extraction by Bord na Móna, the Irish Turf Board.

In HAUNTED GROUND, Brendan McGann, one of the brothers who discovers the red-haired girl in the bog, is worried that he won't be allowed to cut turf on his own land for much longer. 

Another from the 'I Don't Have to Make Anything Up' Department

Another set of human remains were discovered in early August in Cul na Móna bog in County Laois (Ireland). According to Ned Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland (who very kindly sat for an interview with me in April), the lower limbs may have belonged to someone who was a victim of human sacrifice a couple of thousand years ago. At first the archaeologists believed that the lower portion of the body was encased in a leather bag, but now they're trying to determine whether the 'leather bag' found with the body is actually its torso.

This is one of the very few Irish bog bodies discovered in situ, that is, in its original location, so it's a rare find indeed. More will be revealed as the archaeologists and forensic scientists begin their work.

IRISH TIMES story on the bog find

RTE news story on the Laois bog body

IRISH ARCHAEOLOGY article about recent bog bodies

THEJOURNAL.IE article on the Laois bog body

Brigid's Day - February 1

February 1 is the Feast of Saint Brigid, now a Christian saint, but once the goddess of fire and learning in ancient Ireland. Also known as Imbolc, the feast of Saint Brigid is one of the four major fire festivals on the old Irish pagan calendar. People still light fires on hilltops to celebrate these festivals.

A Brigid's Cross, made from green rushes

Here's a song in Irish that celebrates Brigid's excellent qualities, from the singing of my friend Dáithí Sproule on his CD "A Heart Made of Glass." Hear him singing it here.

Gabhaim Molta Bríghde                           Gabhaim molta Bríghde, Iníon í le hÉireann Iníon le gach tír í, Molaimís go léir í! Lóchrann geal na Laighneach, Soils’ ar feadh na tíre, Ceann ar óigheacht Éireann, Ceann na mban ar míne. Tig an geimhreadh dian dubh, Gearra lena géire, Ach ar lá le Brighde, Gar duinn Earrach Éireann.

We Praise Brigid I sing loudly the praises of Brigid, She who is daughter, Not just of Ireland, But of all the countries of the world. A shining lantern of Leinster, A flame throughout the land, Leader of the women of Ireland, One of the finest women ever. The hard, dark winter comes, Short and sharp, But once Brigid’s Day appears, Ireland’s spring is not far behind.

And here's a video to teach you how to make your own Brigid's cross -- though it's a little hard to find green rushes where I live this time of year. (Still four feet of snow in back yard!)

I especially like the detail that each arm of the cross should be made from seven rushes, to represent the seven days of the week, and the 28 days of the month of February.

Secrets of the Stones

Am in the midst of watching a great archaeology program about Ireland's megalithic and other ancient stone monuments! Excellent visuals of carvings, plus the most spectacular aerial shots of earthworks at Carrowmore, Tara, Newgrange, and Knowth. I wish they'd spent a little more time explaining the science of geophysics, but maybe that's just me!

http://www.rte.ie/tv/secretsofthestones/watch.html