Bogs, Brussels, and birthrights: Cutting turf is not just a right but a religion in rural Ireland

Ireland faces European court action for failing to protect its bogs but turf-cutters are standing their ground

Seamus Murphy takes a rest from turf-cutting at Kilgalligan bog, Mayo. File picture: James Crombie

For many in rural Ireland, going to the bog is an almost religious ritual of devotion, passed down from generation to generation.

For many others, some whose Land Rovers only get dirty heading to Roundstone for bank holiday weekends, “the bog” is little more than a byword for a lack of sophistication. An arcane exposition of a forgotten Ireland.