Photographer Shane Hynan's project 'Beofhód' (meaning Beneath in English) delves into the complex relationship between Ireland's peat bogs and their environmental significance. "You can read Ireland's history in the boglands. They hold millennia in their layers," Hynan remarks, highlighting the deep cultural and historical roots of these landscapes.
Scale and Significance of Irish Bogs
Known as portachs in Irish, boglands cover approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million hectares, or about 14% to 17% of Ireland's total land area. The raised bogs of the Irish Midlands form from peat that accumulates at a rate of just 1mm per year (0.04 inches) in low-lying, poorly drained basins or former lakes. Historical geographer Kevin Whelan, in the Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape, notes that "the bog has been etched as deeply into the human as into the physical record in Ireland – to an extent unrivalled elsewhere."
Cultural and Economic Role
Hynan's fascination with bogs grew after living abroad. "I'd gone from being an insider to an outsider. When I came home, I noticed how much the bogs had changed. In a good way, I saw fewer men cutting. In a bad way, I saw no money in the work any more," he says. For generations, turf from the bogs has been a primary fuel for rural households, costing up to €800 per year for heating – less than a quarter of the average Irish household's annual energy bill. Hynan emphasizes, "It's very, very cheap fuel. They can control the quality and quantity of it; you can't really do that with anything else."
Environmental Impact and Loss
Despite their cultural value, bogs face severe threats. Ireland contains 8% of the world's blanket bogs, yet data from An Phríomh-Oifig Staidrimh (Ireland's Central Statistics Office) reveals that over 80% of the original peatland has been lost to extraction, afforestation, horticulture, and agriculture. "I reckon in 20 years … a lot will be gone," Hynan warns. "It's a finite resource."
Carbon Sink Importance
Peat bogs are critical carbon sinks. A study by the FarmPEAT project found that a healthy Irish raised bog can store up to 13 times more carbon per hectare than the Amazon rainforest, as carbon is stored underground rather than in short-lived vegetation. This makes their preservation vital for climate regulation.
A Complex Future
Hynan's work does not offer simple solutions. "These bogs are unresolved, just like my work. I'm not trying to resolve anything … It's a feeling that attaches me to them. When people's voices started becoming louder in my head, I started to see a lot of disparities between ideas of what we should do, what's really happening and how people are being demonised. It's a very complex situation here in Ireland," he explains. He rejects a didactic approach: "I'm not being didactic and telling you to stop it. I'm here to question your relationship to the environment."
Hynan concludes, "There's a real uncertainty in terms of the future for boglands, in the way we interact with them and how we perceive them, and how we use them."
Shane Hynan's exhibition 'Beneath | Beofhód' is at the Photo Museum Ireland until 5 July 2026.
