{"id":199599,"date":"2025-12-19T05:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/199599\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T05:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:18:12","slug":"researchers-launch-specially-commissioned-series-of-beer-mats-about-irelands-peatlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/199599\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers launch specially commissioned series of beer mats about Ireland\u2019s peatlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

The project showcases ancient artefacts including the Brockagh Bronze Age axe and Ralaghan figurineO’Neills Bar Pearse Street<\/p>\n

Researchers have launched a specially commissioned series of beer mats about Ireland\u2019s peatlands in pubs<\/a> across Dublin and Cork ahead of the festive season.<\/p>\n

The development of the mats, which feature detailed artwork and facts focusing on the biodiversity and cultural history preserved in the country\u2019s bogs, was led by researchers at University College Dublin<\/a> (UCD) and University College Cork (UCC) in collaboration with artist Eleanor Brayden.<\/p>\n

Bringing peatland heritage to the pub, the project showcases ancient artefacts including the Brockagh Bronze Age axe and Ralaghan figurine, as well as ecological gems such as the carnivorous Sundew and Devil\u2019s Matchstick lichen.<\/p>\n

The mats, which include a QR code that links to more detailed stories, images and insights into Ireland\u2019s peatlands, have been initially distributed to eight pubs across the two cities \u2013 namely the Cobblestone, O\u2019Neills (Pearse Street), Anseo and John Fallon\u2019s (The Capstan Bar) in Dublin, and The Fountain, Intermission, Rising Sons Brewery and Sin \u00c9 in Cork.<\/p>\n

A collaboration between UCD Earth Institute, the Irish Peatland Archaeology Across Time (IPeAAT) project at UCC and Peatland Finance Ireland, the initiative aims to promote the rich archaeological and environmental history held by Ireland’s peatlands.<\/p>\n

The beer mats were specially commissioned<\/p>\n

Launching the beer mats in Dublin\u2019s Cobblestone pub, Assistant Professor in Sustainability and UCD Climate Fellow Dr Shane Mc Guinness, said: \u201cWhile peatlands have been seen as wastelands or a source of fuel in the past, they\u2019re becoming increasingly valued for climate action, biodiversity and water. We\u2019re delighted to be bringing this message to an unconventional venue \u2013 giving the public a snapshot of the wealth and wonder of Ireland\u2019s peatlands during the festive season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Benjamin Gearey, Lecturer in Environmental Archaeology at UCC and Principal Investigator of IPeAAT, said: \u201cBy bringing archaeology and biodiversity into the pub, we\u2019re hoping the project encourages people to see these ancient landscapes differently, not just as remote or forgotten bogs, but as living landscapes rich in history, biodiversity, and cultural value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 20 per cent of the country\u2019s land area is covered by peatland. It is one of Ireland\u2019s most precious, but most damaged, natural resources \u2013 playing a crucial role in supporting biodiversity and local economies as well as preserving natural and cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Sign up to the Irish Mirror’s daily newsletter here<\/a> and get breaking news and top stories sent direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The project showcases ancient artefacts including the Brockagh Bronze Age axe and Ralaghan figurineO’Neills Bar Pearse Street Researchers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,10236],"class_list":["post-199599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-pubs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}