'Bog Dóiteáin' (Irish Gaelic - 'Bog Fire')

Blanket Bogs are the most common type turf bog in Ireland. From a distance these boglands appear to hug the landscape like a blanket, especially over rolling hills and some mountains. In addition to providing turf, an important source of fuel, bogs are important archeologically as the lack of oxygen and high levels of tannic acid in the water means that objects sacrificed or lost in the bog are astonishingly well preserved. Many of the treasured archeological riches in Irelands National Museum consist of bog discoveries. There are many legends associated with bogs. Among them it was believed that flames flickering on the surface at dusk on misty days came from the fires of fairies who lived beneath the bog.