Case Study: Ballaghurt

Bogland Map
Source: The Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape (1997) p. 107.

To help illustrate the history of peat exploitation in Ireland, and the direction peat exploitation will take in the future, this section will give a brief case study of Ballaghurt bog in Co. Offaly, a typical example of a bog used for energy generation. Ballaghurt bog was first developed and drained during the early 1970s when Ireland was going through significant economic difficulties with high unemployment rates and prohibitive energy costs. The process of draining the bog for production took 5 years, and was completed by 1979.

At the time the exploitation of the bog was a real economic success for the area, as jobs were provided in a disadvantaged rural area, and Ireland could now use this peat to generate our own electricity at the ESB power station at Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly without having to rely on the importation of fuel from abroad at high prices. The bog supplied peat, energy and employment to the area for over 35 years, and still has the capacity to supply peat for electricity generation for another 15 years, in conjunction with biomass burning in our power plants.

While the provision of energy and employment was clearly a benefit, there was also a significant cost to this endeavor as the bog is now beyond the point where it could possibly be restored. Bord na Mona claim that the harvesting of what’s left of the bog will allow for the creation of an acidic wetland landscape or native woodland, in a similar way to the Lough Boora Discovery Park, a post-production bog which is now a wildlife park which offers school tours and activities to visitors (http://www.loughboora.com/)

While it is laudable that these previously exploited bogs are being put to good use, the damage caused by their exploitation is still significant, as the burning of peat is one of the dirtiest forms of energy generation. The undisturbed peatlands are significant carbon sinks, taking in carbon from the atmosphere and storing it for long periods of time. After the bog is exploited and the peat is burned, this ability of the bog to take in carbon is removed, and the burning process releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change.