By Joseph Fitzgerald and Teresa Slattery
About 500 acres of the parish is in the Slieve Aughty Mountains and consists mostly of bogland. It is obvious from the cut away bogs it was all forestry in bygone years. Turf, the main source of fuel was cut and saved there for centuries. The saving of turf was at its peak in the 1940s during the Second World War as only a limited amount of coal was available. Besides supplying the local needs and the adjoining areas there was a big demand for turf in Dublin. Horses and creels were used to deliver the turf locally while lorries used to transport the turf to Dublin where it was stacked in the Phoenix Park for the poor of Dublin. In the 1950s turf cutting went into decline and at this time the Department of Forestry began planting trees on the mountain. Now 50 years later very little turf is saved there.
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