Clara Bog is one of the largest relatively intact

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrot ...

s remaining in Ireland. It lies southeast of the R436 regional road between the village of

Ballycumber Ballycumber () is a village located where the R436 regional road crosses the River Brosna in County Offaly, Ireland. It is west of the town of Clara, on the western edge of Clara bog. According to the 2016 census, the population of Ballycum ...

and the town of

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine gi ...

, in County Offaly. Much of the bog is state-owned and managed as a nature reserve covering some 460 ha. A

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

covers 836 ha.

History

The bog was formed in a depression, originally a shallow lake, at the end of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. An

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Ame ...

left by retreating

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s cut off drainage to the north (the

river Brosna The River Brosna ( ga, An Bhrosnach) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, flowing through County Westmeath and County Offaly. The river rises in Lough Owel north of Mullingar and is a tributary of the River Shannon. It mee ...

catchment). Although usually classed as a relatively intact bog, it has been negatively affected by peat extraction and by the construction of the Clara to Rahan road in the late 18th century. The bog subsided up to six meters following bisection by the road and associated drainage. The dome structure of the bog was also changed by the road, leaving two domes, a western one and an eastern one. In the early 1980s, Clara Bog East was drained for potential industrial peat extraction, but public requests were made to the Irish Government to preserve the area by a number of international naturalists,

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

among them. In 1987, both the Dutch and Irish Governments signed a technical agreement for co-operation in the area of peatland management and restoration. Clara Bog was chosen as one of the study sites and partly converted into a nature reserve. The industrial development was stopped and existing drains were blocked. Its status and development since the last ice age concerning

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

has since been extensively studied. In 1988 it was designated a Ramsar Site. Clara Bog and Raheenmore Bog (also in County Offaly) have been twinned with

Bargerveen Nature Reserve Bargerveen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Dutch province of Drenthe that has been included in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Since 2006 it is part of the Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen (''engl. Bourtanger Moo ...

, a Dutch Ramsar Site, under the European Natural Sites Twinning Programme (Eurosite). In 1992 Ireland considered putting forward Clara Bog as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, but after some years on UNESCO's "tentative list" it was decided that the bog's integrity had been damaged by peat extraction and its candidature was withdrawn in 2009.

Peat extraction for domestic use

For centuries the Irish have taken turf (

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

) from bogs as fuel for their fires, and there has been resistance to the requirements of the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

for a ban on the tradition in protected areas. After a number of raised bogs, including Clara Bog, were designated Special Areas of Conservation in the 1990s, the Irish government granted itself a

derogation Derogation, in civil law and common law, is the partial suppression of a law. In contrast, annulment is the total abolition of a law by explicit repeal, and obrogation is the partial or total modification or repeal of a law by the imposition of ...

to allow "domestic turf-cutting" on SACs for a period of ten years from 1999. Turf-cutting continued on the margins of Clara Bog, although this had a negative impact on its condition.Tracey Logan (June 2011)
Turf-cutters battle over Irish peat bog ban
synopsis of radio broadcast (''

From Our Own Correspondent ''From Our Own Correspondent'' is a weekly BBC radio programme in which BBC foreign correspondents deliver a sequence of short talks reflecting on current events and topical themes in the countries outside the UK in which they are based. The pro ...

''), BBC. Negotiations took place to relocate turf-cutters to alternative sites of less ecological value. In 2012 it was reported that a number of Clara turf-cutters had relocated to a bog at Rahan.

Access and facilities for the public

In 2011

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

completed his last official public engagement as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

in his hometown of Clara, when he opened the €2.1 million Clara bog visitor centre and library. He commented that the siting of the visitor centre avoided unnecessary intrusion on the tranquillity of the nature reserve.Taoiseach's speech: 7 March 2011

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

Public access to the bog is via a trackway from a car park on its eastern edge. Visitors are advised not to leave the boardwalk for safety reasons.

Gallery

File:Orchid in Clara bog. 01.jpg, Dactylorhiza orchid growing at Clara File:Bog Asphodel in Clara bog. 04.jpg, Bog Asphodel growing at Clara File:White orchid in Clara bog. 03.jpg, Dactylorhiza orchid growing at Clara

References

External links

Clara Bog Nature Reserve Website
{{coord, 53, 19, 11, N, 7, 38, 23, W, display=title Bogs of the Republic of Ireland Landforms of County Offaly Protected areas of County Offaly Tourist attractions in County Offaly Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Ireland