By Tony Leather

You bask in the warmth of the roaring fire, enjoying that heavy, musky scent that marks your winters. Is there anything quite like the heady smell of a peat, blazing away in your hearth? No, you'll probably reply, and there are many who'd agree with you, but conservationists in Ireland are worried about the demands of the peat industry and its effects on the environment.

Geological maps reveal that 17.2%, nearly a fifth of Ireland's land mass, was originally covered by peat bogs. Yet a large proportion of that has already been harvested. Some would have it that areas of Irish bog-land 20 times the size of Monaco are being taken every year. It is used for fuel, or garden centres. Most horticultural peat goes to England.

But are things really as bad as they're made out to be?

Peat bogs are firmly rooted in Irish culture, being secretive locations that made perfect hiding places, for things as well as people. Poitin, illegal arms or booty and even the odd dead body could be secreted away in them. Today, these places are sanctuaries for so many rare forms of wildlife such as lapwings and kestrels. Ireland still has a wider range of bog-lands in a natural state than any other European country, so why should the future seem uncertain?

The Irish Peatland Society recently surveyed 30 bogs, reporting that they have much more environmental impact than was formerly believed. Though being depleted by the demands of the buying public, these bogs still manage to expand laterally, burying whatever they encounter, even stone walls and houses. Peat bogs are reluctant to give up their secrets, but when they do, there'll be many a surprise in store, no doubt.

In truth, Ireland has the fourth largest reserves of peat in the world, exceeded only by Finland, Canada and Indonesia. It accumulated over thousands of years, and continues to do so. In the natural, undrained state, it consists of 95% water and 5% vegetable matter. When drained, it makes both ideal compost and excellent fuel. There are three types of peat bog in Ireland - fens, raised bogs and blanket bogs.

The oldest bogs are thought to have formed about 9,000 years ago. All types are home to a wide variety of plant species hat are specially adapted to the environment. Sphagnum mosses, for instance can hold up to 20 times their own weight of water, while insect-eating plants like sundew and butterwort also thrive.

Archaeologists love these bogs, because of the lack of oxygen within them, and the acidity, which combination means that objects buried by the peat remain well-preserved, far more so than in other environments. Many important finds have been made, such as the pre-historic farms of Ceide Fields - Co.Mayo and the Clonlinlough Settlements in Co. Offaly.

There is actually documentary evidence of the use of peat as fuel in Ireland going back to the 8th century. The clearance of the Irish forests in the 17th century meant that by 1840 - when Ireland's population had reached 8.2 million, peat was the only fuel available to many in rural areas. Every bog in the country had peat taken from its fringes, usually with a 'slane' - a digging spade with a wing.

After centuries of this, recent decades have seen many bogs drained, then converted into grasslands and coniferous forest, though undrained peatlands show a great capacity for regenerating themselves. As the 20th century dawned, though, the need for fuel had increased dramatically and peat began to be harvested on a commercial basis.

While the first half of this century didn't see much interest in conservation, things began to change in the later years. One of the larger peat companies in Ireland is Bord na Mona, set up more than 50 years ago. They are as active today in conservation matters as they are in the production of peat products.

It's thought that the first discussions on conservation actually took place in Ireland, on the basis of a paper presented to the International Peat Conference in Poland in 1972 by Tom Barry, of Bord na Mona. The first peatlands to be preserved was Pollardstown Fen, presented to the state in 1972, to mark the first European Year of Nature Conservation.

Even though the company - which owns 7% of Ireland's peat resources - produces four million tons of milled peat fuel per year, it claim that current stocks will last at least 30 years, and have no plans for expansion. It are responsible for the creation of some new landscapes, notably Lough Boora Parklands, in Co. Offaly.

This is the pilot project for a proposed 80,000 hectares of cutaway boglands, being restored to their original ice-age condition. This area spans 11 counties and three provinces in mid-Ireland, and includes lakes, wetlands and unique wildlife habitats, where the diversity of animal, bird and plant species will take your breath away.

For those who are curious to see how the process of peat extraction works - as well as the conservation work - the company run the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly railway, offering a nine-kilometer trip on its dedicated three-foot narrow gauge railway. The peat-fired Shannonbridge power station is featured, and schools and colleges make use of the Nature and Field studies Tour, for courses in geology, ecology and history.

More information about this railway can be obtained by contacting - The Tourism Manager - Bord na Mona - Blackwater -Shannonbridge - Co. Westmeath.

This company, as others of its kind, recognizes the importance of peatlands for scientific and geological study, and contributes much to researching both rehabilitation and conservation.. Clara Bog and Raheen Mor are among its conserved bogs, and the effort is ongoing.

Perhaps those who say, "For peat's sake, think about the future," have a point, but evidence suggests that the Irish are NOT in imminent danger of losing this most precious part of their heritage, because the uniqueness of such habitats will always ensure that work carries on to preserve them.

If you want a day out with a difference, go and take a look. The smell of that peat fire next winter will then be more evocative, more Irish, than it ever was before.