The IAF and 12th Field are really pleased to share that Bog Bothy has been selected for an AAI Award 2026 by the Architectural Association of Ireland.
Developed, shaped and co-designed with communities across Ireland’s peatlands, Bog Bothy arrived during three years of sustained engagement: returning to sites, building relationships and working slowly with the bog and its many stakeholders.
On the bog, things are never still. The ground shifts, water rises, paths appear and disappear. The Bothy sits lightly in this landscape. Making space. For gathering. For listening. For thinking about what it means to care for a place in transition.
What has emerged from this project is more than a structure, but a process, one that unfolds over time, carried by those who return to it, use it and shape it.
Funded by Creative Ireland and regional partners and shaped by communities, artists, builders and many others along the way, Bog Bothy and this AAI Award belong to all of those who have spent time with the Bothy and with us. We thank all of our funders who believed in the project from the start.
With Bog Bothy on the move again, in partnership with Tóchar, IAF and 12th Field will continue to work with new communities into summer 2026. As these landscapes enter a new phase of care and restoration, Bog Bothy remains a space to ask what forms of work might follow, and how we continue to inhabit, tend to and live with Ireland’s peatlands.
Photo:
Bog Bothy workshop at Girley Bog, Co. Meath. Photo by Ste Murray.
#AAIAwards #BogBothy #CreativeIreland #CreativeClimateAction #SustainableDesign #Community
Introducing this year's final Bog Bothy community!
This summer, the Irish Architecture Foundation, architects 12th Field and Tóchar will work with communities across the Midlands to explore how architecture, placemaking and collective action can shape new relationships with Ireland’s peatlands.
Following its time in Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath and Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon, the Bothy will make its final stop at Ballymore, Co. Westmeath from 15 August to 20 September.
Activity will be led locally by Ballymore Heritage Group, Shinglis BirdWatch and Natural Heritage Group, who share a commitment to the cultural and ecological life of Ballymore Parish, including the wetlands of Lough Sewdy.
They say, “The Bothy offers a unique way to highlight Lough Sewdy’s biodiversity within an engaging and shared space.”
For updates on Bog Bothy activity in Ballymore, follow Ballymore Heritage Group on Facebook. And stay tuned here for further Bog Bothy announcements!
Photos courtesy of Ballymore Heritage Group, Shinglis BirdWatch and Natural Heritage Group
Graphic design by @oscartorrans
#BogBothy #peatlands #IrishArchitecture #SustainableDesign #NatureRestoration #wetlands
Introducing this year's next Bog Bothy community!
This summer, the Irish Architecture Foundation, architects 12th Field and Tóchar will work with communities across the Midlands to explore how architecture, placemaking and collective action can shape new relationships with Ireland’s peatlands.
Following its time in Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath, the Bothy will tour to Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon, where it will be installed from 4 July to 9 August.
Activity will be led locally by Cornafulla Micro Reserve, bringing people together in and around the Bothy to connect more deeply with the bog environment.
The Cornafulla Micro Reserve team said, "We want more people to feel confident coming out onto the bog and to feel that this changing landscape matters to them."
Cornafulla Micro Reserve brings together landowners, farmers, artists and volunteers to support the ecological recovery of a post-industrial peatland.
For updates on Bog Bothy activity in Cornafulla, follow Cornafulla Micro Reserve on Facebook. And stay tuned here for further Bog Bothy announcements!
Photos courtesy of Cornafulla Micro Reserve
Graphic design by @oscartorrans
#BogBothy #peatlands #IrishArchitecture #SustainableDesign #NatureRestoration #wetlands
Introducing this year's Bog Bothy communities!
This summer, the Irish Architecture Foundation, architects 12th Field and Tóchar will work with communities across the Midlands to explore how architecture, placemaking and collective action can shape new relationships with Ireland’s peatlands.
The tour begins in Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath, where the Bothy will be installed from 4 May to 28 June. Activity will be locally led by Milltownpass Tidy Towns, with community groups and schools beginning to shape life around the Bothy.
Milltownpass Tidy Towns is a community-led group engaged in biodiversity protection, climate action and heritage awareness within a living peatland landscape.
They say, "The Bothy creates space for conversation, learning and reflection, which feels very suited to the stage our bog and our community are at right now."
For updates on Bog Bothy activity in Milltownpass, follow Milltownpass Tidy Towns on Facebook. And stay tuned here for further Bog Bothy announcements!
Photos courtesy of Milltownpass Tidy Towns
Graphic design by @oscartorrans
#BogBothy #peatlands #IrishArchitecture #SustainableDesign #NatureRestoration #wetlands
Bog Bothy 2026: A New Partnership for Peatlands Architecture
This summer, the Irish Architecture Foundation, architects 12th Field and Tóchar are delighted to announce Bog Bothy 2026.
Following its inaugural tour in 2025, Bog Bothy returns this year working with communities across the Midlands to explore how architecture, placemaking and collective action can shape new relationships with Ireland’s peatlands.
We’re excited to be working with three communities this year:
. Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath
. Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon
. Ballymore, Co. Westmeath
Across the summer, the Bothy will act as a space for conversation, co-design and shared learning, supporting communities to imagine future infrastructures for their peatlands.
The tour begins in Milltownpass, where the Bothy will be installed from the May Bank Holiday weekend. Activity will be locally led, with community groups and schools beginning to shape life around the Bothy.
Stay tuned for more!
Photos:
1. Bog Bothy workshop at Girley Bog, Co. Meath, 2025. Photo by @ste_murray .
2. Sphagnum moss at Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath
3. Post-industrial track at Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon
4. Six-spot burnet moth at Ballymore, Co. Westmeath
Graphic design by @oscartorrans
#BogBothy #peatlands #IrishArchitecture #SustainableDesign #NatureRestoration #wetlands
Last month multidisciplinary artist Luke Casserly presented the first public listening of his soundscape on the Girley Bog boardwalk, offering a glimpse into work developed during his Bog Bothy residency in 2025.
Commissioned by IAF and 12th Field and now nearing completion, the work was created through conversations, field recordings and time spent with communities connected to Ireland’s peatlands. The piece weaves together voices, stories and sounds gathered across Clara and Girley Bog as part of Luke’s ongoing exploration of landscape, memory and ecological change. Further public sharing and listening walks will take place in the coming months.
Credits:
Headpiece by @earlychildhoodcreativity
Sound design by @hk.ni.sh
Video by @lukebrabazon
#BogBothy #CreativeClimateAction #peatlands #12thField #SustainableDesign #BuiltHeritage
Reminder about upcoming events in Coill Dubh this weekend to mark the end of phase 2 of ‘Tóch | Dig’. We’ve a pop up exhibition and architectural talk by @12thfield about Coill Dubh’s Bord na Móna Workers village estate both on Friday night at 7pm and 8pm respectively. We also have artist workshops on Sunday from 11am. Pop up exhibition doesn’t need pre booking but all other events do. Booking links provided in our instagram bio. If you’ve booked a place and you cant make it please let us know asap so we can reassign the place. Some space still available for Fridays architectural talk. Please email [email protected] to be placed on the waiting list.
All events will be held at the Coill Dubh Community Centre.
On Friday 20th February, Architects David Jameson and Evelyn D’Arcy from 12th Field will give a talk about Coill Dubh, Frank Gibney and the Bord Na Mona Workers Villages commencing at 8.00pm upstairs in the boardroom of the Coill Dubh Community centre.
Before the architecture talk we will have a pop up Art Exhibition by local artists at 7pm in the main hall. The work will respond to the bog and Coill Dubh Village. No booking required for the exhibition.Tea & Coffee will be served.
On Sunday 22nd February (from 11am to 3.30 pm) Tóch | Dig artists will host free workshops as follows:
Shane Hynan: Paper-making from peat
Make your own hand-made piece of paper from 100% peat, technique uses a mold and deckle to form sheets from soaked and pulped the peat fibres.
Sheena Malone: Textile Weaving
Make a strip weaving wall hanging using fabric dyed with plants found in and around the Bog of Allen
Pamela de Brí : Introduction to Cyanotype Printing
Cyanotype is a simple 19th century photographic printing process that uses UV light or sunlight to create images of items placed on treated paper or fabric.
Each workshop will last approx one hour. Participants can experience all three workshops and take home what they make. All materials supplied. Light lunch provided.
This project is funded by Creative Ireland through Kildare County Council and the #CreativeCommunities initiative.
Official unveiling of ‘Tóch | Dig’ Phase 2 closing events which will take place the weekend commencing 20th February 2026.
All events will be held at the Coill Dubh Community Centre.
On Friday 20th February, Architects David Jameson and Evelyn D’Arcy from 12th Field will give a talk about Coill Dubh, Frank Gibney and the Bord Na Mona Workers Villages commencing at 8.00pm upstairs in the boardroom of the centre. This is a free event but booking essential as places are limited: Link to book in bio.
Before the architecture talk we will have an opening of an Art Exhibition by local artists at 7pm in the main hall. The work will respond to the bog and Coill Dubh Village. Tea & Coffee will be served.
On Sunday 22nd February (from 11am to 3.30 pm) the Tóch | Dig artists will host free workshops as follows:
Shane Hynan: Paper-making from peat
Make your own hand-made piece of paper from 100% peat, technique uses a mold and deckle to form sheets from soaked and pulped the peat fibres.
Sheena Malone: Textile Weaving
Make a strip weaving wall hanging using fabric dyed with plants found in and around the Bog of Allen
Pamela de Brí : Introduction to Cyanotype Printing
Cyanotype is a simple 19th century photographic printing process that uses UV light or sunlight to create images of items placed on treated paper or fabric.
Each workshop will last approx one hour. Participants can experience all three workshops and take home what they make. All materials supplied. Light lunch provided. This is a free event but booking essential as places are limited: Link to book in bio.
This project is funded by Creative Ireland through Kildare County Council and the #CreativeCommunities initiative.
On this World Wetlands Day we are looking back on our time practising new bog rituals last summer, and getting the wellies ready for another go very soon! #worldwetlandsday
Bog Bothy continues in 2026, and we’re inviting communities to shape what comes next!
We’re now open for Expressions of Interest from communities across the Midlands who feel a strong connection to their local peatlands and would like to host the Bog Bothy, deliver a public programme, and take part in a collaborative co-design process rooted in place.
This is a funded opportunity, delivered by the IAF with 12th Field in partnership with Tóchar Wetlands Restoration.
You don’t need to be a formal organisation to apply - community groups, informal networks and partnerships are all welcome!
Read more and apply through the IAF's link in bio.
We look forward to learning about your community, your peatlands, and your ideas.
Key dates:
. Online Info Session for interested communities, 23 January, 4pm (register through IAF's link in bio)
. Application Deadline: 6 February, 5pm
. Hosting: Spring–Summer 2026
Photos:
1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10. Bog Bothy at Girley Bog, Co. Meath, August 2025. Photos by @ste_murray
2-3. Bog Bothy Building Workshop at @common_k_ , August 2024. Photos by @shanehynan
6, 9. Bog Bothy at Clara Bog, Co. Offaly, June 2025. Photos by @bkkeogh
#BogBothy #peatlands #SustainableDesign
2025 in Review; In August the bothy moved to Girley, Co. Meath for a range of creative and bog focussed events run by the local community. @abogslife and Elena Aitova ran zine workshops and explored how we monitor the health of the bog, and on Saturday evening Friends of Ardee Bog performed a mummers' play, 'The Turf Man, the Devil and the Ditch Hag'.
@irisharchitecturefoundation@creativeireland@12thfield #creativeireland @ardeebog #creativeclimateaction #bogbothy #bogs
2025 in Review; The bothy was officially opened in Clara, Co. Offaly in June with a weekend of events looking at future heritage and living landscapes. Speakers from both Ireland and abroad contributed to a number of workshops and panel discussions. Luke Casserly also did a workshop as artist in residence for the bothy, photograph no.3 by Brendan Keogh.
@irisharchitecturefoundation@creativeireland@12thfield #creativeireland #creativeclimateaction #bogbothy #bogs
