Above: Irish Bogs

Bogs Ireland (Ireland Tours) is remarkable for the number and size of its bogs. They are of two kinds flat bogs, or those lying on plains, and mountain bogs on hills and high valleys. A large part of the Central Plain consists of bogs. The most extensive is the Bog of Alien, which covers the greater part of Counties Kildare (Accommodation, Kildare, Ireland) and Offaly (Bed and Breakfasts, Offaly, Ireland). It is covered to a depth of upwards of twenty feet with peat, a substance formed of decayed vegetable matter. Cut into blocks, the peat is dried in the sun and is used for fuel. Tills bog was once a forest, and trunks of oak trees are found embedded in the peat. The oak, called "bog oak" is hard and black when dried, and is used for making brooches, paper-knives, and other ornaments and utensils.