New Ferbane Bog Boardwalk is opened by Minister Noonan

A NEW boardwalk on Ferbane Bog was officially opened by Minister of State Malcolm Noonan on Friday afternoon last.
Speaking on the bog itself, on a warm, beautiful, Spring day the Minister welcomed everybody in Irish. “A chairde,” he remarked, “Go raibh maith agaibh go léir as a bheith liom anseo inniu. Is iad na pobail atá mar chroílár ár dTailte Portaigh agus is iad imeachtaí mar seo a thugaimid go léir le chéile chun áilleacht ar n-oidhreacht nádúrtha a cheiliúradh.”
He said he was delighted to receive the invitation from Ferbane Tidy Towns to officially open the Boardwalk, “which I believe is known to the local community as Ballylin Bog. Ferbane is a very picturesque village which is steeped in peatland heritage.
“Our peatlands are places of serenity and a wonderful showcase of what nature has to offer. The raised bogs of Ireland and our current and traditional use of them are places that epitomise community spirit and are wide open spaces where people come together, away from the busy-ness of the modern world we live in.”
The Minister pointed out that peatlands play a significant role in the natural and cultural heritage of Ireland. He said raised bogs, with their astonishing beauty, have inspired artists and scientists, such as Ferbane’s Mary Ward.
He said he was delighted that his Department, together with funding awarded under the EU LIFE programme, could support this project. “The Living Bog project did not simply focus on revitalising raised bogs but also, and just as importantly, they made a concerted effort to engage with schools, landowners, local communities and other stakeholders in developing the restoration plans, sensitively developing visitor facilities and helping to maximise the socio-economic benefits during and after the project. This project has been hugely important not just for Ireland and its raised bogs, but for Europe, especially when you consider that just over 50% of the remaining raised bog habitat in Western Europe is held in Ireland.
“Our hope is that this boardwalk will serve to provide a connection between the local community and the natural beauty and heritage of the bog. Peatlands should be viewed as a natural asset for the local community. We are continuing to support community led peatland initiatives through my Department’s Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme which was recently announced for 2023 and I am welcoming applications for projects under this scheme.”
Aoibhinn Molloy Roche of Ferbane Tidy Towns thanked the Minister for being present. She also thanked Deputy Carol Nolan, Councillor John Clendennen and Cllr Eamon Dooley for their assistance with the project.
“I would like to thank the National Parks & Wildlife Service for constructing this wonderful boardwalk. Europe’s biodiversity is under severe threat and projects like this are very welcome. In creating this boardwalk we are reconnecting people to our peatlands in a different way. This will hopefully raise Ferbane (Ballylin) Bog’s profile as a haven of biodiversity.”
Referring to the government’s decarbonisation programme Aoibhinn said we must ensure that the transition is indeed just and that the investment goes to the right people and places.
“During the early stages of this project Ferbane Tidy Towns was approached and asked to act as custodians of this Boardwalk, a task we take very seriously. It forms part of our overall strategy where we aim to connect the community to Ferbane’s wonderful green assets such as Ferbane (Ballylin) Bog, the Brosna River, Gallen wood; where we aim to reimagine our heritage buildings and link the town with cycle routes.
“More tree planting is planned in the autumn and our aim is to link Ballylin Bog and the Cow Park woodland through a green corridor of native tree planting in Ballyvora Grove. Restoring Fair Green, just opposite the Mary Ward Centre, has gone through the planning stage and is due to begin soon. We have secured funding for a community garden at An Siolan; not to mention receiving our national Tidy Towns Climate Action Award for Offaly’s first sustainable rain garden at our Chat & Chill garden, and meitheal tree planting at Knockaulin Drive Park.
“Finally, I would like to thank all our volunteers, especially the service users of St Hilda’s, who prepared the Mary Ward Centre for today.”
Local historian Aidan Doyle said we should all be proud of our bogland heritage. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been the case. For example, in the 19th Century poorer people were often to be found living on the edge of the bog. By the mid 20th century that link with poverty had been transformed into a link with financial benefit.
“As the journalist Maurice Liston, of the Irish Press, went around the country in the 1950s he talked to Canon James Earley in Ferbane who told him that the Bord na Móna jobs provided by the bog had stopped a lot of emigration.”
Acclaimed nature photographer Tina Claffey also spoke. She pointed out that our wild places are so important, “and never so important as right now. Ballylin Bog will allow the people of Ferbane and beyond to immerse themselves in the beauty of their wild bog, right on their doorstep. It will allow them to immerse themselves in a place which is so great for the mind, body and soul. Ballylin Bog is a haven of biodiversity; it’s a beautiful area; a precious place. It will benefit young and old and I for one am looking forward to exploring its beauty and magic with my camera.”
Tina then presented Minister Noonan with a copy of her book “Portal”, “as an appreciation for his being present for the opening, and for his positive work towards the protection and restoration of our heritage and wild spaces."

The boardwalk is accessed at via Ballyvora Grove road.