If you’ve been at a pub in Dublin or Cork in recent months, you may have spotted some specially commissioned beer mats, which tell the story of Ireland’s rich peatland heritage.
The beermats include facts and figures about the cultural history and biodiversity of the island’s bogs, with artwork by Eleanor Brayden.
The project is a collaboration between the UCD Earth Institute, UCC’s Irish Peatland Archaeology Across Time (IPeAAT) project and Peatland Finance Ireland (PFI), a member of the Palus Demos consortium.
The beermats feature images of the the sundew – one of Ireland’s only native carnivorous plants, which grows on peat soils – and the Devil’s Matchstick lichen, a symbiosis of an algae and fungus that requires high quality water and air.
One beermat features the Ralaghan idol, a late Bronze Age carved wooden figure found in a bog at Ralaghan, county Cavan, and now housed in the National Museum of Ireland. Another tells the story of a Bronze Age axe found in Brockagh, county Kildare.
Dr Shane Mc Guinness (pictured above) of PFI says that while peatlands have value to the climate and biodiversity, they also have deep cultural and spiritual significance.
The beermats have a QR code which provides a link to more detailed stories, and were distributed to the Cobblestone in Dublin, O’Neill’s (Pearse Street), Anseo and Fallon’s (The Capstan Bar) in Dublin and, in Cork, at Sin É, Rising Sons Brewery, Intermission and The Fountain. Further funding has been found for a second print run.