409:
321:. Today, equipment is used to remove tonnes of peat each day at suitable times of year (rainfall is a significant variable in peat harvesting). Almost all the peat now harvested is milled peat, scraped from the surface of the bog by tractor-towed pin millers. The milled peat is ridged into small piles which are then transferred by harvesters into large piles running parallel along the bog. Railways are laid alongside each pile, the pile loaded into trains and the railway lifted and moved to the next pile. This is the 'Peco' method of working. A few bogs use the 'Haku' method whereby the milled peat is loaded into tractor-towed caterpillar-tracked trailers and deposited in a single heap at the edge of the bog adjacent to a railway line. Each year, the network of drainage ditches is deepened by a few inches before the next harvest.
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It also highlighted the biodiversity projects in progress and those completed. In 2016, Bord na Móna released a second biodiversity action plan. This subsequent plan was developed to build upon the objectives of the first action plan while also looking to the future of Bord na Móna's peatlands with regard to Bord na Móna's announcement to stop harvesting peat for electricity production by 2030. Speaking about the biodiversity action plans, Bord na Móna's Senior
Ecologist, Dr. Catherine Farrell said "We all need to work together in Bord na Móna to ensure the best outcomes for rehabilitation and biodiversity. This will be critical to the delivery of our Biodiversity Action Plans".
401:. Permanent railways run from a hundred peat bogs, each covering hundreds of acres, to power stations, briquette factories, moss peat factories and roadside tipplers. On most of the bogs, temporary tracks are laid along the piles of peat the full length of most bogs. Before a pile has been cleared, another temporary line will have been laid a few hundred feet farther along. More than 300 kilometers (approx 180 miles) of temporary track are laid each year and the Bord have specialist track fabrication workshops, tracklaying machines, and a fleet of dedicated locomotives and rolling stock on hand. A few bogs are operated by the
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227:. The reason for the formation of the Turf Development Board was "to develop and improve the Turf Industry..." and "...to operate and drain bogs...". Later, in 1946 the Turf Development Board changed its name to Bord na Móna under the Turf Development Act 1946. This move saw a change in status from that of a limited liability company to a statutory company as well as some significant changes in strategy and operations.
109:
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traditional turf areas. It is estimated that before the war the annual production of turf per year was three million tons. The war effort added two million tons a year to this. The use of peat as a fuel source during World War II reinforced the government's commitment to develop
Ireland's bogs as an indigenous source of energy.
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Locomotives and rolling stock, for many years bought in from outside companies, are now designed and built in-house. New locomotives are invariably 0-4-0DH (diesel-hydraulic) or 4wDH (no connecting rods). Most peat wagons are of the bogie type with aluminium bodies to reduce weight, though there were
210:
The new sustainable businesses and activities located across Bord na Móna's bogs are said to include; renewable energy development, domestic fuels, biomass development, waste recovery, horticulture, eco-tourism, and community amenities. Although Bord na Móna will cease harvesting vast amounts of peat
202:
Over the years, Bord na Móna has expanded and diversified its portfolio of businesses to include biomass procurement and supply, power generation (peat based and renewable), waste recovery, domestic fuel products and professional and consumer horticulture products. In 2015, the company announced that
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In 2010, Bord na Móna launched its first
Biodiversity Action Plan. This plan set out a number of objectives and actions to be carried out over a five-year period 2010–2015. It gave an overview of rehabilitation work, natural colonisation projects, and the biodiversity of the company's cutaway bogs.
272:
is due to the company's operations which progressively altered the terrain of bogs in their ownership. Bord na Móna has made considerable effort to offset the impact of their operations over the years. In the 1970s, a group of Bord na Móna employees, led by Tom Barry who was
Peatland Environmental
237:
was in short supply. This was due to a sharp reduction in imports and because the coal being imported was of poor quality. World War II resulted in the implementation of a number of emergency fuel schemes with a particular focus on peat as fuel for the people of
Ireland, both inside and outside of
249:
Up to the 1950s, Ireland's bogs were harvested for turf, but from the 1950s right through to modern times the bogs were harvested for milled peat. This new method of peat harvesting gave way to harvesting on a scale not yet seen before in
Ireland. A number of bogs in the Midlands were the proving
241:
After the war, the Irish government had a renewed focus on "the production of turf by mechanical processes and its sale at prices that cause it to compete effectively with other fuels". The war raised a valid concern around the security of indigenous fuel for
Ireland. The resulting solution was a
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and
Kinnegad in Westmeath, Monettia, Bellair and Killaun in Offaly, and Templetuohy on the Tipperary / Kilkenny border. The Coolnamona Works is largely closed but the railway system was upgraded in 2010/11 to serve a new tippler supplying peat by road to Littleton (Lanespark) Briquette Factory.
472:(locomotive and sixteen wagons) were in daily use sixteen hours a day at West Offaly in April 2009. Other, generally older locomotives, handle fuel trains, track trainloads of track, ash trains and permanent way gangs. As of 2012 the Edenderry Power Station is deriving a lot of its fuel from
257:(PSO) scheme. 5.3% of Irish homes used peat for heating. In 2020, the Bord na Móna announced that it was phasing out peat harvesting in Ireland. No jobs would be lost, and existing peat workers would be reassigned to bog reclamation projects rather than laid off.
214:
Despite these changes Bord na Móna and the extraction of turf remains controversial in
Ireland as it is criticised as being the most environmentally unfriendly form of fuel and having a negative impact on local biodiversity while in receipt of state subsidies.
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factories at
Derrinlough, County Offaly and Littleton, County Tipperary each have rail connections to 6 or 8 working bogs. Between four and six peat trains work on each system, the trains almost always travelling in pairs as they do at the power stations.
430:(colloquially the "Bog Train") for about twelve years. This service ceased permanently in October 2008 as it interfered with the heavy peat traffic heading for West Offaly Power Station. One line of the Blackwater system runs along a section of the former
250:
ground for this new style of harvesting and are still in production to this day. The primary counties for peat harvesting were Kildare, Offaly, Galway, Longford, Roscommon, and Tipperary. These areas still continue to be the main areas of peat production.
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The company is responsible, under government action, for reclaiming spent bogland. These areas of land are usually cleared up, with trees or other suitable vegetation being introduced. Reclaimed bogland is then usually used as a
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of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland communities and achieve security of energy supply for the recently formed Irish Republic. The development of peatlands involved the mechanised harvesting of
1025:[https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1957-05-01/57/ "Committee on Finance. – Turf Development Bill, 1957 —Second Stage. – Dáil Éireann (16th Dáil) – Wednesday, 1 May 1957 – Houses of the Oireachtas"
438:. The newest branch of this system runs north from existing bogs at Bloomhill to the new bogs of Kilgarvan and Bunnahinley – the latter in the outskirts of Athlone – and opened for traffic c. 2011.
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still thirty or so old steel-bodied wagons in use as of 2009. Templetuohy, the Bord's last traditional sod peat operation, uses four-wheeled open-slatted wagons which end tip into waiting lorries.
317:. This method (still privately used today) consists of sods being vertically cut from the side face of a peat deposit. Technology was derived to mechanically cut and remove layers of peat from
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had a substantial impact on the development of Ireland's peat industry and the foundation of Bord na Móna in 1946. During the war, it was necessary to stockpile peat as a fuel given that
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the harvesting of peat for power generation is to be "phased out" by 2030, at which point the company would complete its transition to new sustainable businesses located across its
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332:. These briquettes consist of shredded peat, compressed to form a slow-burning, easily stored and transported fuel. The first peat briquette factory built by the Board, the
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They can be found at Gilltown, Ummeras, Kilberry, Prosperous and Almhain North – all in County Kildare, Coolnamona in County Laois, Derryfadda in Galway, Coolnagun,
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Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway: A succession of trains (here three are visible) bring milled peat to the Shannonbridge electricity generating station.
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in County Offaly. During the 1980s and 1990s, another internal drive saw the conservation of more bogs, including Bellacorick Flush County Mayo,
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Bord na Móna also operates several smaller bog railways delivering the peat to tipplers for transfer by road to factories and power stations.
363:.The ESB stations have all closed as of 2021 and Edenderry transitioned to 100% biomass in December 2023, ending all peat use by the company.
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network is operated by the company in the midlands. Some smaller sections of railway were used in other bog locations, for example in
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until recent years. Bord na Móna has an extensive network, which has carried up to 5 million tonnes annually, and is larger than the
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in 1957. Derrinlough, the last remaining briquette factory out of four in total closed in June 2023. Another product developed was
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468:, Lanesborough, County Longford – is the hub of an extensive rail network carrying heavy traffic. As an example, twelvetrains or
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process, where the peat is collected in one huge heap at the end or side of a bog, requiring only one railway line to serve it.
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Officer at the time, drove an initiative to preserve a number of bogs, including Pollardstown Fen located in County Kildare and
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Bord na Móna has been responsible for both gains and losses of biodiversity across the bogs under their control. This
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was scheduled to be demolished in 2020 or 2021. However, the demolition has now been postponed to at least 2027.
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In 2018, West Offaly and Lough Ree power stations received €87.75 million from the taxpayer to operate under the
857:"'The bog is the community. This could destroy us': How Ireland's move away from peat is hitting the Midlands"
333:
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Bord na Móna has developed a number of products which were novel developments in their time. Today peat
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to supply power plants, they will continue to harvest peat for their horticulture and fuels businesses.
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On 15 January 2021 it was announced that peat briquettes would no longer be available after 2024.
520:. With much of the bogs of Ireland depleted, peat-fired electricity stations all closed by 2020.
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issued by the government setting out what later became known as the First Development Programme.
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885:"Bord Na Mona to end peat harvesting, with €5 million going towards bog rehabilitation"
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for use in the garden – particularly in pot plants. The company also supplied peat to
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and other types of biomass. Thus the amount of peat arriving by rail is diminishing.
186:, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the
574:– another EU member still burning significant amount of peat for energy generation
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All three of Bord na Móna's old steam locomotives are preserved, one by the
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Heartland, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Turf Development Board
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Part of the Blackwater bog system was also used for tourist trains – the
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634:. Hume Avenue, Park West, Dublin 12: Gill & Macmillan. p. 70.
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branch canal. This includes a section where the railway runs through
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in Offaly opened in 1959 peat, financed with a loan of £500,000 from
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demolished on 16 March 2004 as it was no longer viable, followed by
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Brown Gold – A History of Bord na Móna and the Irish Peat Industry
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917:"Bord na Mona peat briquettes will no longer be made after 2024"
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397:. Bord na Móna has one of the largest industrial railways in
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757:"Money to burn? Or 3,000 sustainable jobs for the Midlands"
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1069:"Reprieve for former Shannonbridge Power Station Building"
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Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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182:; English: "The Peat Board") is a semi-state company in
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726:"Bord na Móna to extend range of products to customers"
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Peat was traditionally manually harvested by operating
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Bord na Móna milled peat harvesting in the Bog of Allen
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Bord na Móna was originally established in 1933 as the
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511:Bog land covered with trees for land reclamation
791:"Brief History of the Peat Industry in Ireland"
696:"Bord na Móna to cease energy peat harvesting"
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598:. Bord na Móna. 24 July 2019. Archived from
1123:Energy companies of the Republic of Ireland
1039:"ESB to demolish West Offaly Power Station"
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27:
567:List of narrow-gauge railways in Ireland
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673:from the original on 24 September 2016
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855:Fitzgerald, Cormac (27 August 2019).
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393:(passenger and freight) operated by
195:, which took place primarily in the
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456:Each of the three power stations –
291:National Parks and Wildlife Service
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982:. Bord na Móna. 2010. pp. ii.
980:Biodiversity Action Plan 2010–2015
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830:Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-2021
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755:Gibbons, John (22 November 2015).
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593:"Bord na Móna Annual Report 2019"
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460:at Shannonbridge, County Offaly;
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443:Irish Steam Preservation Society
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1148:Bogs of the Republic of Ireland
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947:"A History of Bog Conservation"
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883:McNally, Tadgh (16 June 2020).
667:Bord na Móna Annual Report 2016
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225:Turf Development Board, Limited
179:[ˌbˠoːɾˠd̪ˠnˠəˈmˠoːnˠə]
16:Irish semi-state energy company
1133:3 ft gauge railways in Ireland
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669:. Bord na Móna. 25 July 2016.
328:replace sods of raw peat as a
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334:Derrinlough briquette factory
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1098:Official site – Bord na Móna
663:"Bord na Móna Annual Report"
562:List of companies of Ireland
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1103:Kylemore Lock and BNM train
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1023:Seanad debates May 1957
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544:on 14 October 2007. The
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630:Clarke, Donal (2010).
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142:Powergen Development
42:– Semi-State Company
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1045:. 24 January 2020.
923:. 15 January 2021.
524:Power Station near
197:Midlands of Ireland
125:Number of employees
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1128:Geology of Ireland
1043:Offaly Independent
732:. 6 October 2015.
702:. 5 October 2015.
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163:www.bordnamona.ie
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1153:Peat mining
1079:20 November
606:2 September
542:County Mayo
538:Bellacorick
458:West Offaly
432:Ballinasloe
379:914 mm
244:white paper
1117:Categories
931:21 January
805:10 October
771:6 December
579:References
532:, had its
447:Stradbally
326:briquettes
301:Harvesting
279:Mongan Bog
85:Key people
1008:7 October
961:7 October
840:7 October
795:Heartland
761:An Taisce
710:7 October
640:cite book
540:in north
526:Edenderry
481:briquette
474:woodchips
466:Lough Ree
462:Edenderry
374:3 ft
342:peat moss
287:An Taisce
283:Clara Bog
188:peatlands
135:Divisions
79:, Ireland
73:Newbridge
1047:Archived
1002:Archived
955:Archived
925:Archived
895:Archived
867:Archived
834:Archived
799:Archived
765:Archived
734:Archived
704:Archived
671:Archived
556:See also
492:Ballivor
479:The two
367:Railways
338:Guinness
901:17 June
352:of the
219:History
184:Ireland
159:Website
104:Revenue
63:Ireland
55: (
47:Founded
1053:1 June
399:Europe
289:, the
175:Irish:
148:Energy
40:Public
596:(PDF)
522:Rhode
470:rakes
1081:2023
1055:2020
1010:2016
963:2016
933:2021
903:2020
842:2016
807:2016
773:2017
742:2016
712:2016
679:2016
646:link
608:2019
403:Haku
346:soil
235:coal
205:bogs
193:peat
117:2019
57:1946
50:1946
700:RTE
548:in
445:at
94:CEO
61:in
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