PEAT
“The rate of exploitation of a resource
is related to technological change”
What is peat?
Peat is a soil that is made up of rotted
dead plants which have built up on top
of each other in waterlogged places for
thousands of years.
Bogs
Raised bog
Blanket bogs
2 types of bogs
Raised-found in the Midlands. Can be up
to 12metres deep
Blanket-found in upland and lowland
areas of the West of Ireland. Can be up to
3 or 4 metres deep
Blanket bog
The “old way” of cutting
peat
Meitheal: Group of neighbours and friends
who worked together at a common task in
rural Ireland.
Turf Stacks-Peat is called
turf when it is cut
Sleán-How do you think
this was used?
Question time
Do you think this work was fast?
What do you think was done to make
extracting the peat quicker?
Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna
Set up in 1946
Why?
To exploit the bogs.
What does exploitation mean?
Why would Bord na Móna want to exploit
the bogs?
The “new” way-Peat
Production
Stage 1
The bog is drained.
Why would the bog have to be drained?
How does this make the work easier?
Ditcher-Why do you think the
tyres are so wide?
Grader
Stage 2
The peat is harvested
How was peat harvested before?
Miller
Harrow
Ridger
Stage 3
The peat is transported
How do you think the peat was
transported in the past?
Phase 4
The peat is marketed
Uses of peat
Milled peat-ESB power stations in the
Midlands
Briquettes
Garden peat/moss peat
Sod peat
Milled Peat
Peat Briquettes
Garden/moss peat
Sod Peat
Bog Debate
Keep using them up?
Preserve them before they run out?
Keep using them?
Source of fuel-electricity. Don’t have to
import oil
Export-make money
Bord na Móna-jobs
Grasslands
Forests-what can we use these for?
Preserve them before they
run out?
Home to rare plants and animals
Home to many birds in winter
51% of the total remaining bogs in
Europe
Archaeology-bog man!