Bog Bothy Events

July 11 - Aug 9, 2026. Schedule of free events (more to be added)

Sat 11 July, 2-4pm
Opening Event. With live music by Bernard and Patrice Coyle and poetry readings by Jackie Gorman and Tadhg Carey. Refreshments served.

Sun 12 July, 2pm
The List of 60 Words. A conversation with Poet and Irish Speaker Mel Mac Giobúin, looking at traces of the Irish language in plant, animal and place-name words. Mel will be joined by local heritage specialist, Anton Lennon who will share his knowledge of place names.

Thur 16 July, 7pm
Birds of the Shannon Callows and Cornafulla Bog, with Wildlife Management Specialist Owen Murphy.

Sat 18 July, 2pm
Nesting Box Workshop with Jason Rohan. Build your own bird or bat box, all supplies are provided.

Sun 19 - Sat 25 July
Bog Bothy Residency: Clyde Doyle, designer, researcher and lecturer at IADT, working across ecological design, participatory practice and design for social and environmental change.

Sun 19 July, 5.30pm
Tea and Bog Stories: An informal gathering with local personalities, bog stories and a presentation of photographs by Peter Ward, with a poetry reading by award-winning writer and poet Amy Abdullah Barry. David Jameson and Evelyn D'Arcy of 12th Field Architects will be on hand to speak to people about the bog and what their impressions and feelings of it are.

Thur 23 July, 6.30pm
Deep Peat Bog Restoration Potential: Case Study Cornafulla Bog, presented by Peatland Ecologist David Fallon.

Sat 25 July, 2pm
Peatland Hydrology and Land Use, with Hydrologist and Researcher Howard Cross, PhD researcher, Trinity College Dublin.

Sun 26 July, 12.30pm
Writing the Bog with Emma Harney. A two-hour writing experience. Open to all level of writers. Space limited to 12. RSVP @ emma.harney.writer@gmail.com

Tue 28 July, 11-2pm
Artists Dee McKiernan, Rosemarie Langtry and Ursula Ledwith, all based in the Midlands, will spend time working from the Bog Bothy and responding to Cornafulla Bog through their own creative practices. People are welcome to call in quietly and see the artists at work.

Wed 29 July, 6-9pm
Bookers Guys regular monthly book club meeting. A private gathering for group members.

Thur 30 July
4.30pm Law and Environment - Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Ella McSweeney, with Thomas Ball, nature and biodiversity lead at KPMG Ireland; Dr Alison Hardiman, barrister and environmental law consultant; and Fred Logue, environmental and planning lawyer.
5.45pm Nature and Education - with Patrick Kirwan, science teacher and Director of the Irish Schools Sustainability Network, and Dr Jessica Foley, lecturer, poet and researcher.
[Full event details and transport information PDF, click here ]

Sat 1 August, 2pm
Reading the Bog through Archaeology with Archaeologist Noel Dunne. A walk and talk on how archaeologists read worked bog landscapes.

Mon 3 August, 11am
Moths of Cornafulla Bog + Bog Time Machine with geography teacher Eugene Dunbar. Family-friendly event exploring moths from an overnight trap. Special guests the Cornafulla Céilí Band and the Cunniffe family. In collaboration with Athlone River Festival.

Tue 4 Aug, 10-5pm
Artist Emer Gaffey invites artists to join her for a morning or afternoon of plein air painting, or both, working from the Bog Bothy and the surrounding landscape. People are welcome to call in, see work in progress and join informal conversations inspired by the bog.

Sat 8 August, 2pm
Workshop with Helen Duncan, contemporary ceramic sculptor and mixed-media artist. Create a seed storage pot using the ancient techniques of pinching and coiling clay in this hands-on ceramic workshop. Inspired by age-old traditions of saving, storing and protecting seeds, participants will make their own clay vessel to take through the first stages of the ceramic process. Helen has kindly offered to kiln-fire the finished pots after the workshop, transforming them into durable ceramic vessels suitable for seed storage. All materials are provided. Fired pots can be collected at a later date.

Sun 9 August, 3-5pm
Besom Bash
A new broom sweeps clean, but an old one knows the corners
Join us to celebrate what happened during the programme, share stories and reflect on what we would like to carry forward.
Everyone who attended, contributed, volunteered, gave a talk or workshop, shared local knowledge, or helped make the Bog Bothy programme possible, is warmly invited to join us for a final afternoon together at Cornafulla with live piano playing by Johnstown native, James Duffy.
We will also bring together memories of heather besoms and try making one at the Bothy, with tea and refreshments.

Poet Jackie Gorman has kindly offered everyone who attends a printed copy of one of her Shannon Callows poems. Bring a pen and ask Jackie to sign it, then take it home as a keepsake or frame it for your wall.

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Directions from Athlone: take the old Ballinasloe Road/ Galway Road to Michael Kenny Car Sales (N37 X9A2). Turn onto the L2036 towards Creggan. Continue for 6 Minutes. At the T-junction, keep right and stay on the L2036.
Nearest Eircode N37 FF10.

Events include outdoor activities, so please wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear.

The programme coincides with Amanda Ralph's solo exhibition, FIELD STATION: CORNAFULLA, at the Luan Gallery, Athlone until 30 August 2026.

Bog Bothy is a partnership project between the Irish Architecture Foundation and 12th Field, co-created with local communities. The Bog Bothy 2026 tour is funded by Tóchar. Managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Tóchar is a three-year wetlands restoration project co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund.