Turf Cutting and Bogland on Achill IslandPart 2 - Cutting TurfCutting The TurfLong square pieces of this wet material are cut from the bog, usually with a special tool called a 'slane'. The slane has a flat metal face, like a spade, with a knife-like protrusion at right angles to the normal face, facing forward, which cuts out the long pieces of turf ready to be dried. The wet and soggy pieces of turf are allowed to dry out - over a period of about 2 to 3 months - they can be used as fuel - this is called 'turf'. Unlike coal and oil, the aroma from a turf fire is definitely something of comfort and joy and gives one a feeling of warmth and contentment. Unfortunately I cannot reproduce it on this page!
The turf cutting 'season' begins around the middle of March (springtime) and usually finishes around the end of May, though it all depends on the weather. In general it shouldn't start until the threat of hard frost is gone because frost would encourage the water in the wet turf to turn to ice and weaken the turf and possibly break it up into smaller pieces. (Hard frost is caused on cold nights when temperatures are so low that the moisture and dew turn to ice). Machine TurfIn these 'modern' (in other words - lazy) days most people who have a 'stripe' of bog (a marked out patch of bogland where they have legal permission to cut turf) hire a turf cutting machine, along with the machine driver, to cut sufficient turf to last the winter. But there are still a few who are determined to continue on the tradition of cutting turf by hand using the slane.
Personally, I find working on the bog and cutting turf by hand an enjoyable and rewarding activity which gets me out of the house, into the fresh air and replaces the need for some physical exercise. Normally I only spend about 2 hours or less at any one time. Each piece of turf cut from the bog is usually about 14 to 18 inches long (35 - 40 cm), and 5 by 5 inches square. Initially each sod is fairly heavy because of the amount of water within the material. My guess is that each sod of turf must be about 75%, or more, of water when first cut from the bog. The turf pieces (sods) are 'spread out because if they are left on top of each other they will remain wet. Updated: 9th March 2012
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