‘saw it writ in a bog-hole’; the material world of midlands ireland

8/2/2019 Saw it writ in a bog-hole; The Material World of Midlands Ireland

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++Amy Jessup

By the Bog of Cats Research Paper

Senior Project Class

Saw it writ in a bog-hole

When first embarking on the journey that is By the Bog of Cats by Marina

Carr, it is crucial to first take into account the location of the setting. It is assumed

that the playwright did not set her play into Midlands Ireland simply because it is

her homeland. There is a deeper compulsion that requires the use of a location that

is well-known inside and out to the writer. More simply put, if the playwright did

not think location was important, then there would have been no point in

mentioning one. Instead Marina Carr uses the passion of the Irish, the pride and

collective consciousness of the whole as a stage to play out her version of the Greek

tragedy Medea.

The Making of Bogs

Since bogs are featured prominently in Carrs By the Bog of Cats, it seems

only sensible to detail what exactly makes up a bog. While there are two main types

of bogs, they appear similar and produce the same effect. Ireland has more bogs

than any other country, except Finland. They are targeted for exploitation, due to


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the mass amounts of peat found in bogs, which was the main source of fuel in

Europe for many hundreds of years. Bogs are not suitable farmland for crops, as

nothing grows on a bog, so for many years cutting the peat from the bog was the

only way to get use from it. Livestock could be placed on a bog, since bog grass was

common. However the nutrients of this land are very poor and require very hardy

plants and animals to have a sustained growth.

Most likely the type of bog featured in By the Bog of Cats is a Raised Bog,

which are almost solely located in central Ireland, or the Midlands. These bogs are

created through a lengthy process that dates back to the time when the glaciers

were retreating from the land that would be Ireland. These glaciers left behind

indents in the land, which collected water and formed ponds and lakes(Abbot). The

lakes were thriving with life and used by early hunters to catch fish. Along the side

of the lake was a variety of plant life such as reeds and grasses. When these plants

died, the remnants fell to the bottom of the lake to start the process of making peat

(Abbot). Normally when plants die, microorganisms decompose the pieces into

usable parts, however in oxygen-deficient areas such as lakebeds often there is no

oxygen to be found. Thus the plant parts never get fully broken down, slowly

causing a buildup of peat, which will eventually overwhelm and crowd out the

original lake. Since the plants havent been broken down, the peat has very little

nutritional value and thus very little can grow. (Peatlands) This process takes

hundreds and hundreds of years to accomplish, since it takes about 10 years for 1cm

of peat to grow. This gives you a time frame as to how long bogs in Ireland have

been growing as it would take 300 years to build a foot of peat.


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Critters and Bugs

The waterlogged bog land makes it very difficult for burrowing animals and

large rooted trees to survive and thrive, but other creatures like insects and birds

find it perfectly suiting to their tastes. Dragonflies, beetles and moths find an easy

time surviving, as would any insect with an aquatic-based part of the life cycle. Small

mammals can also make a life for themselves in the bog, but the types of animals

differ depending on the type of bogs. For our research on raised bogs the only

animals that are common to it are Irish Hares and the Pygmy Shrew. Found only in

Ireland, the Irish Hare is similar to the mountain hare, both of which have strong

hind legs and do not burrow but rather habitat in hollow depressions. Irish hares

used to be a common sight and were hunted thoroughly enough to warrant a full-

year ban on the hunting of Irish hares in 2004. (Peatlands)

Another interesting inhabitant of bog lands is the Greenland white-fronted

goose. It has a mostly grey body with a white front, it is often found in Ireland

grazing on the deer grass that grows on peat bogs. (Peatlands) While these birds

are not common to raised bogs, they do bear a heavy resemblance to the black swan

mentioned in Carrs By the Bog of Cats. These geese to not live in Ireland full-time

but rather migrate to different lands depending on the weather.

Bog bodies and other strange finds


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While bogs are mainly comprised of dead plants and water, sometimes more

exotic things are found buried in the peat. All of these things are helped by the

preservative properties of the Sphagnum moss, which lends its properties to the

things buried around it. Oddly enough, the most common item found in bogs is

barrels of butter, with an amazing 270 kegs of butter uncovered in the bogs of

Ireland. In addition to butter, items such as medieval weaponry and bodies have

also been pulled out of peat (Madrigal).

Bog bodies are an especially unappetizing find due to the distinct lack of

aging of the bodies. The bog preserves the bodies, clothing even hair far more than

normal. This usually leads to a quick summation of what killed them. In a few

unlucky cases, ropes and nooses used to kill the people were still around their necks

as bog bodies (Madrigal). Because of the number of bog bodies, scientists believe

that bogs were the place of ritual sacrifices. On a less gruesome note, there is a body

dated back to 300 BC that was found with an ancient form of hair gel, made from

vegetable oil mixed with pine resin.

Weather in the Emerald Isle

With a name like the Emerald Isle, it is only to be expected that the island

receive a substantial amount of rainfall to maintain its legendary emerald color.

Ireland is directly in the path of the Gulf Stream which means it can have the

climate of the mid-east united states while having the latitude similar to

Newfoundland in Canada. (Ireland Weather Maps) Snow is not a common

occurrence in Ireland except for in the mountainous areas, which helps us to narrow


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down a location for the mythical Bog of Cats. However the winter months still have

quite a have quite a heavy rainfall and with temperatures generally around 41

degrees F it would not be far-fetched to imagine a winter storm that could cover and

freeze the midlands to create a scene similar to the opening of By the Bog of Cats.

Heart and Head of the Irish People

To understand the reasoning behind the Irish setting, one must either have

grown up in it, as Marina Carr did, or make a careful study of it. However even the

most in depth study couldnt cover everything since the Irish spirit is far too

inexplicable. In the Irish culture there is a sense of pride that holds them far tighter

than anything else, indeed it is the first thing one recalls about the Irish and many a

thing that gets an Irishman into a fight. In Lenoard Wibberlys The Trouble with the

Irish he recounts when he had been relocated to an English school to escape the

dangers of the clashing sections of Ireland, an art teacher made an innocuous

comment, Do not let the yellow and blue mix, the result will be a dirty green. The

authors reaction to this comment was explosive. To him the color green was

synonymous with his country, people and their culture. (Wibberly 16) At the time of

this comment, the author was 11. This should give an idea as to just how early and

strongly pride is instilled into the Irish culture.

Importance of being dead

There is an indistinct line drawn between the world of the living and dead in

By the Bog of Cats, there is an even more indistinct line in the real lives of the Irish.

As Wibberly cleverly quoted in his book, It has been said of the Irish, and the saying


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greeted with a clap of delight, that they are ruled more by the dead than by the

living. (Wibberly 20) This is proven over and over in the course of Irish history, as

they cherish their past as if the past is the dinner service on the table out of which

they eat a daily meal (Wibberly 21) There has been such a rift between Ireland and

their neighbors that the past cannot help but affect many. The wars between the two

countries have left behind scars that can still be widely felt among Irish people. And

while it is one thing to fight another country, it is even more unsettling to fight

against yourself. The troubles between Ireland and Northern Ireland are still almost

too recent to remark upon. The war has left the two cultures so different that they

even act and react differently. In addition the religious aspect of the country as a

whole is changing from what it once was. The Catholic religion was widespread and

an everyday part of life for all Irish. However, lately Ireland has been changing and

is in a process of secularization that is slowing changing the prevalent way of living

for all Irish. (Wilson 174)

Wibberlys quote holds even more water when the Irishs spiritual beliefs are

under consideration. A large part of the population is Catholic, which has been the

dominant organized religion for centuries. However there are many Irish that also

share those beliefs with those of the occult. These beliefs, like their folklore, vary

from person to person as do the seriousness of these beliefs. Characters like

Catwoman, in By the Bog of Cats are not a far stretch of the imagination. Especially

considering that there is folklore or ancient traditions embedded in almost

everything and every aspect of the Irish life. Its no surprise that Carr set her play


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here with the combination of the strict rulings of the Catholic church and the more

mystical and unknown world of the occult.

Family

The heavily catholic point of view has for ages affected the birth rate and size

of families in Ireland. The Catholic rejection of birth control methods led to large

Irish families of ten or eleven children were common. Large families in addition to

struggling job markets has been blamed as a key reason poor Ireland has stayed

poor so long (Bartlett 472)

Into the twenty-first century things in the Irish household began to change.

Suddenly one-third of all children were born out of wedlock and one-third of all

marriages ended in divorce, which had been recently legalized. The country that

had once been ruled and guided by the church was slowly slipping away from it. The

clerical sex abuse scandals also caused even more substantial mistrust in the church.

The number of vocations reached an all-time low (Bartlett 473)

These troubles also mirror the familial troubles that are at the root of

Hesters problems in By the Bog of Cats. There is no guarantee that if she had been

officially married to Carthage the story would have ended differently, but she would

have been able to have a better side to her argument. While divorce had been

legalized at the time of the play, it was still frowned upon by the smaller and more

Catholic-driven towns.

Travelling People, Tinkers and Gypsies


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The Travellers certainly have managed the most colorful histories of the Irish

people, choosing to live a migrant life instead of settling in a single place. Though

plenty of land was available for these people to settle in, they chose to live a

traveling life and see to their needs by tinsmithing and peddling items from one side

of Ireland to another. Their unique way of living made it hard for the Irish people to

categorize the Travellers, this turned into a debate as to whether or not the

Travellers can be considered a minority ethnic or not. All the while anti-traveller

racism has been promoted through propaganda, false testaments as well as simply

fear of the different (Wilson 75). Many of the arguments posed against the

Travellers are valid. The schooling of children that belong to the Travellers as well

as health care is difficult to put to a group of people that insist on moving from land

to land. While the obvious method of reaching an understanding lies in compromise,

this is often easier said than done.

While the non-Travellers have a hard time relating to their wandering

cousins, it is even more difficult for young Travellers to understand their options

outside of their lifestyle. For example, There is a strong leveling tendency within

Traveller society which can result in the application of negative sanctions against an

individual who takes a job and thus appears to be rising above his proper station in

life. (Wilson 76) This statement shows that the desire to remain equal amongst the

Travellers is so strong that they would even put down on of their own because he

was able to rise to a better station. No matter what the individual wish or dream is

amongst the Travellers, they must continue to earn their way as they having,

distaining anything that would put them higher in the realm of the settled people


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even if such actions led to a more wealthy and affluent Travellers (Wilson 76) These

largely misunderstood people are even more difficult to comprehend in a world of

people striving to better themselves and to get ahead. While their culture seems

completely backward and strange, it must seem equally so for the Travellers when

they look at what has become of our modern society and way of living.

After looking in-depth at some of the nuances of Irish culture, its pretty clear

to see that there is proof that Carr relied heavily on the Irish culture to uphold her

play. From the family relations to the treatment of the travellers, there are many

examples of modern Irish culture that Carr has written into her play. When you

consider how much culture exists in the country of Ireland it is not surprising why

she would place her plays here. When a country is universally known for its fierce

loyalty, courage and passion in everything they do, who wouldnt use this beautiful

locale to set a play? When constructing characters, the playwright seeks to make the

characters as strong and complex as possible, which would make setting By the Bog

of Cats in Ireland an extremely sensible decision. That fact, coupled with Carrs own

personal and in depth knowledge of the country and culture as well as detailed

grasp of the accented language make this play the richly colored story that is By the

Bog of Cats.


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Sources Cited:

Abbot, Patrick. "Ireland's Peat Bogs." Wesley Johnston. 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2011..

Bartlett, Thomas.Ireland: a History. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.

De, Paor Liam. The Peoples of Ireland: from Prehistory to Modern times. London:

Hutchinson, 1986. Print."Information About Bogs from the Blanket Bog Restoration Project in Ireland."Active

Blanket Bog Restoration Project Ireland, Restoring the Wildlife Habitat

Peatlands of the West of Ireland. Coillte, 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

.

"Irish Peatland Conservation Council - Information Sheets - Bog Bodies."Home Page forIPCC. 2000. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

"Ireland Weather Maps Provided by MET EIREANN."Ireland Bed and Breakfast Guide,

Cheap Advertising for Irish Vacation Holiday Home and B&B Hotel

Accommodation Owners. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Madrigal, Alexis. "Bogosphere: The Strangest Things Pulled Out of Peat Bogs | Wired

Science | Wired.com." Wired.com. 21 Aug. 2009. Web. 30 Oct. 2011..

"Peatlands."Department of Environment Homepage | Department of Environment

Northern Ireland. 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

.

Wibberley, Leonard. The Trouble with the Irish: or the English, Depending on Your

Point of View. London: F. Muller, 1958. Print.

Wilson, Thomas M., and Hastings Donnan. The Anthropology of Ireland. New York:Berg, 2006. Print.

‘saw it writ in a bog-hole’; the material world of midlands ireland

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