Traditional turf cutting with Michael Chambers

Peatlands only make up 3% of the world’s landmass but store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined. Yet much of this country relies on peat for home heating and power. “For Peat Sake” explores Ireland’s unique relationship with our peat bogs.
In Part 1 Duncan meets with local turf cutter Michael Chambers who teaches Duncan how to cut turf by hand, Duncan reminisces of times cutting turf with his father and reflects on how mechanised turf cutting is now the norm.. but at what cost? Part 1 'For Peat's Sake'

[@SkepticalChris]

Why is it so satisfying, watching someone cut peat?

[@richiehoyt8487]

Reminds me of the old joke: "I love work, I could watch people doing it for hours!" Actually, I've always been amazed at how many people wax lyrical about "The day on the bog"... 'Glorious' weather, the bottle of TK red lemonade (or cold, sugary tea in a lemonade bottle), jam sandwiches wrapped up in newspaper, etc, etc. I dunno - having spent my childhood and teens living in Cork City and my 20s in London, I probably just came to it too late (To clarify for Dublin readers, Cork City might be *'down'* the country, this does not mean it is *in* the country, Corkonians enjoying all the same modern amenities as those in the Capital do - horses on the greens, grazing amongst the widescreens and the mattresses; gangs of 'pups' openly selling 'Q's outside the chipper, shitebags tearing up the greens on their trial bikes, etc. Nevertheless, I've done my time on the bog, and I can make the connection in my head: some work now for heat and fuel for the range come the Winter... I have another system though - get a job, buy *coal* and... *'Hello..!'* what's this? money left over that I can exchange for intoxicating beverages in a house of public resort! And you can take your tea and your sandwiches - I don't care if you've gone all - out with 'Pork, Onion & Tomato', and your bag of Tayto and you can stick them up your... *'gansaí'* for all I care! And I wouldn't be getting too 'nostalgical' about the wellingtons full of bog water, the back spasms, the skin hanging in sheets off the palms of one's hands, the decidedly INGLOURIOUS non - stop drizzle and the *BASTERT* midges that seem to sense new blood like jail - daddies after court on a Monday evening, either. There's only two things good I can say about working on the bog - it beats the hell out watching your hands go from red to purple to *freaking white* as you lose the sensation in them, not to mention the ability to stand up straight, from picking winkles, the other great pastime of culchies playing "let's pretend it's the 1950s!" and the other thing? You remember the gurriers and the toe~rags I spoke of earlier who so, ah, *'enrich'* modern urban life? Well, Britain had it's 'Short, Sharp, Shock'. It has its 'ASBO's. Neither worked. We had the Industrial Schools. We had Spike. Didn't work either (Well actually the Industrial Schools worked fine if your object was to punish people for being poor and provide a slave labour force for the country's religious institutions). But has anybody tried the bogs?! After all, if the Gulags worked for the Sovs... Besides, who knows, if working on the bogs is really as great as it's enthusiasts have us believe, one never knows - they might actually have a rehabilitative effect!

[@bilobilodylan5423]

This channel deserves more recognition.

[@VideosofIrishFarmingLife]

Excellent video, thanks for the upload, enjoyed it very much

[@SuperDiagnostic]

This takes me back ('like so many I guess') to cutting and bringing in the turf back in the 60's and 70's using a horse and cart. I hated seeing the machinery doing the job mainly for power generation I imagine in the 80's and 90's, it seemed so wrong that it was allowed and how could it ever be sustainable. I'm sure we all long for those days back when looking through our rose tinted glasses. Saddening!

[@priscillareads]

This is so interesting! Who in the world would have thought to cut dirt and burn it? Amazing.

[@endahartin503]

PriscillaReads it’s not dirt it’s turf

[@mhammer5]

Watching all of that work makes me thirsty for a Guinness Stout.

[@colinmayes9446]

SLAINTE'

[@brycelowe6658]

“My god, that man could handle a spade” - Heaney

[@vfr400r3l]

My Dad worked in that Power Station for nearly 20 years, beautiful place

[@anilmd858]

Super video i like it...plz come to india ...one nation many world's

[@salasyflia]

Money,money,money. The world has to stop this dictatorship of money.

[@noahkamakeeaina5454]

the world is already lost

[@scottrobertson5554]

Totally agree. Mankind has and continues to destroy this planet for monetary gain. Now we have drought, floods, forest fires and rising sea levels amongst many other problems. At what point does man say enough is enough? It's so selfish to leave these issues for future generations to deal with.

[@niallooo]

"The industrial revolution and it's consequences have been a disaster for the human race" ted kaczynski

[@baxpiz1289]

did he say the first thing you do is "nick" the bog? tx

[@daithi8306]

im here for school

[@thecrippleculture]

Same here 😔🖐️

[@dalyr32]

This is just green propaganda the machine cuts the same amount of turf as the man with the slane,except it would take the man with the slane a week to cut what is needed for the winter.no one cutting turf is cutting any more than they need because what they fail to show is that there is still alot of manual back breaking work involved in saving it and there's not too many people taking on extra unnecessary work in a bog.

[@rightthen.3243]

Exactly, so tired of all this hand-wringing propaganda

[@m.a.packer5450]

I can't believe people in the UK actually eat that stuff

[@CoherentChimp]

I put marmite on mine! Lovely.

[@kazsmaz]

Spastic

[@clayfada2384]

MA PACKER republic of ireland

[@brettbullman6387]

😂

[@rc8rsracer1]

Cut it by machine or by hand... no difference besides I don't have to break my back anymore.

[@conorbourke190]

Eamon Ryan dislikes this