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

Thur 30 July
4.30pm Law and Environment - panel discussion chaired by Ella McSweeney, Irish Times.
5.45pm Nature and Education - panel discussion with Jessica Foley, poet, researcher and lecturer, and Patrick Kirwan, Irish Schools Sustainability Network.

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.

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.