Peter Murray finds a renewed sense of urgency in artists’ interaction with Ireland’s bog landscapes
In 1607 a writer described lands owned by Donall O’Donovan in Carbery, Co Cork as ‘a barren unfertile soyle, full of Bogges, rockes, and Woodd’. These same conditions, viewed so negatively in the 17th century, are now seen as an asset, not least in terms of carbon capture and restoring a balance with nature. Until recently viewed as a source of fuel and compost, bogs are now being preserved and restored. With concerns about the environment firmly embedded in the political agenda, there is a renewed sense of urgency in artists’ interaction with these areas of Ireland’s landscape.
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