Boora Bog (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Portach na Buaraí'') is a cutaway

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

situated in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, Ireland. Peat was harvested for fuel between the 1950s and 1970s, and the land is now being reclaimed for agricultural and eco-tourism use. There was a lake called Lough Boora (''Loch na Buaraí''), which was drained by

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland c ...

, but was not used for peat production: this area is now maintained as a nature reserve by the Irish Wildlife Trust. There are two angling lakes.

Archaeology

In 1977, a prehistoric site was discovered at Lough Boora. Excavations revealed a temporary settlement dated to the

Mesolithic era The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

. No structures were discovered, but stone axe heads, arrow heads, and blades were discovered, surrounding a series of fire sites. The finds were dated to approximately between 6800 BCE and 6000 BCE.

Sculpture Park

Sculpture in the Parklands is a land and

environmental sculpture Environmental sculpture is sculpture that creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually en ...

park located in Boora Bog. The first artworks were commissioned in 2002 during a symposium where seven Irish and international artists worked over a three-week residency period. Eight large, site-specific sculptures were created during the symposium, blending into the natural environment and the industrial legacy of the bog lands. The park can be visited all year round.

Wildlife

Boora is the Irish stronghold of the

grey partridge The grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), also known as the gray-legged partridge, English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name ...

. A conservation project funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service has turned the fortunes of the species around from a critically low 22 to 932 birds. Other species seen regularly include

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

green sandpiper The green sandpiper (''Tringa ochropus'') is a small wader (shorebird) of the Old World. The green sandpiper represents an ancient lineage of the genus ''Tringa''; its only close living relative is the solitary sandpiper (''T. solitaria''). They ...

and

ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

. Over 130 species of resident and migrant birds have been recorded in the discovery park, and the mammals present include deer, a herd of wild goats, badgers, hares and bats.

References

{{coord, 53.218, -7.728, type:landmark_region:IE_dim:5000, display=title Bogs of the Republic of Ireland Landforms of County Offaly Archaeological sites in County Offaly Lakes of County Offaly