A new 4-part series on TG4 presented by Manchán Magan will explore our complex relationship with the peatlands of Ireland.
‘An Fód Deireanach’ (The Last Sod) will take viewers on a visually spectacular, informative and entertaining tour of the secret treasure of the country’s landscape.
Each of the four episodes concentrates on a particular aspect of our peatlands. First up Manchán takes a look at climate change, asking ‘can saving our peatlands help save the planet?’
He visits Bord na Móna, who say “the world is changing and we are changing with it”. Investigating where this leaves the average turf cutter, Manchán meets with campaigners who say that without turf cutting rural Ireland can’t survive.
During episode two, Manchán looks at the ecological importance of our peatlands. With Éanna Ní Lamhna, he learns that there is more to the bog than just turf; observing carnivores plants within a fragile ecosystem.
He explores the healing properties of the bog, sampling a popular tonic for the Celtic curse, hemochromatosis.
Also in the series Manchán asks if we can strike a balance between the preservation of our peatlands and the preservation of our culture?
Bogs has been a source of inspiration for artists, poets, and writers from Paul Henry to Seamus Heaney, and a part of our fabric of society for centuries, always there, providing us with a fuel source to cook our food, heat, and light our homes.
But Manchán investigates what lies in store for the future of our peatlands. Managed properly they can provide so much for us, as “a sod of turf is worth more to us in the ground than on the fire.”
Living bogs provide protection against floods, increase biodiversity, improve the quality and amount of our drinking water and they are our greatest natural ally in the fight against carbon. In the series, Manchán questions whether it is time to cut our Fód Deireanach.
The series begins on Thursday April 7 2022 at 8.00pm on TG4
