PHASE II - The Present (completed February 2026)

We always conceived Phase II as being informed by the outcomes of Phase I. It has remained of the utmost importance that we carry those communities ties formed in Phase I into the project's ensuing phases while incorporating the expressions of interest which have organically developed due to the success of Phase I. While the focus of Phase I had been firmly rooted in the past, Phase II looked at the bog as a space in transition. Moving away from turf-cutting, we reached out to those harvesting the bog in non-traditional ways, excavating aspects of it as a means of academic and scientific knowledge production and interdisciplinary learning. By engaging with groups or academics who explore aspects of the bog in their research while using the oral history archive as our starting point, we opened up and broadened the discussion on the value of our peatlands for current and future communities. Academic and scientific practitioners were brought together with those who contributed to the oral archive. This phase was predominantly about exploration.

There has been a lot of talk about ‘Just Transition’ in relation to Irish midland communities connected to peatlands and to date there has been mixed opinions about its success in providing social and climate justice in tandem. Our project could be viewed as a case study of ‘Just Transition’ at a local level.

Our team of three artists facilitated meetings between the older and younger groups and also provided guidance, teaching and learning through various workshops and other bespoke events to aid the research and development of the community project. This phase was partially structured and planned but allowed space for the project to determine its own direction.

During Phase II

The goal of Phase II was to incorporate the archive and knowledge gathered in Phase I as a starting point for Phase II and using it to initiate intergenerational discussion.

A: Information Gathering, August 2025

  • This related to activities concerning the in-depth research and development of Phase II and culminated with a research and feedback session in Ballyteague GAA Hall on 9th August, 2025

  • Our focus during this phase was on retaining the trust and relationships we built with the participants in Phase I while also bringing new interested parties / groups on board with the aim of gathering a more diverse community of interest around the bog.

B: Archive Activation and Mapping. October 2025

  • This brought together the participants from Phase I with new parties from Phase II.

  • Activites included a mapping of sites of interest mentioned in the oral history archive from Phase I.

  • The three Tóch I Dig artists gave a talk to Maynooth University’s Main Spatial Justice student (Department of Geography) on 1st October 2025.

  • To activate the oral history archive and bring together Phase I and Phase II participants, we hosted two bus tours to these highlighted sites around the bog which took place on 12th and 19th October. Those interviewed during Phase I acted as ‘tour guides’ at these sites. To supplement this local knowledge and to add to the interdisciplinary and intergenerational nature of the project, we invited experts such as Jesmond Harding for a butterfly workshop and David Jameson and Evelyn D’Arcy from 12th Field Architects to talk about the design of Coill Dubh by the architect and town planner Frank Gibney.

  • To gain an insight into how other people viewed the bog, disposable cameras were handed to bus tour participants.

  • We had intended to create an interactive online map but due to time and budgetary contraints we will carry this into the next phase of the project.

C: November 2025

  • The focus of the Phase was on the research and development for Phase III which in the project’s current conception will be the final realisation for overall project.

D: February 2026

  • A weekend of public facing events in Coill Dubh Community Centre including a talk, an art exhibition and craft workshops by the three Tóch I Dig artists.

  • During our bus tours we noticed an appetite for more information on the origins of Coill Dubh so we invited 12th Field Architects to give a talk on Frank Gibney, Bord na Móna and the origins of Coill Dubh.

  • The Old School Art Group from Milltown were invited to hold an exhibition of the artworks inspired by the bog.

  • The photos taken with disposable cameras during the bus tours were displayed.

  • The three Tóch I Dig artists held craft workshops: peat paper making, cyanotype photography and fabric strip weaving.

Phase II Outcomes

  • The oral history archive (Phase I) was used as starting point for Phase II for looking at the bog as a site in transition with past, present and future overlapping and influencing each other.

  • The creation of interdisciplinary and intergenerational discussion around the bog drawing upon heritage, history, folklore, storytelling, education, arts, culture, ecology and STEM etc.

  • The oral history was activated in two bus tours which visited sites around the bog. Those interviewed during Phase I acted as ‘tour guides’ at the sites. To supplement this local knowledge and to add to the interdisciplinary and intergenerational nature of the project, we invited outside expert advice from various academic disciplines.

  • We engaged a group of NUI Maynooth students which allowed them to meet participants from Phase I and respond to the oral history archive, the site and the material archive.

  • An interest was generated in the planning and architecture of the ‘model village’ of Coill Dubh which was built to house Bord na Móna workers.

  • The craft workshops explored materials found in and around the bog and highlighted the diverse crafts that could be employed using them.

  • In addition to local interest, the craft workshops attracted people from a wide geographical area who had not previously known about the project or bogland communities.