Bog Week ...that week long celebration of the bog, the land, the environment and its people is over for yet another year as I write while interestingly enough, the seasonal work on the bog is just commencing.

A suggestion over a couple of pints of Guinness yesterday with a Heritage studies student from Clonbur whirled my mind into action. He was ecstatic over the idea of celebrating the bog.....the land....the sweat and tears associated with cutting the turf. He reckoned that a day of celebration should be adopted for each stage of the turf cutting process. A footing the turf party, a spreading the turf party, a drying the turf party, a stacking the turf party and then finally, the party of all parties..the celebration of all celebrations...the harvesting the turf on the way home party!!!! He rambled on about a lot of parties and then plonked down, played a few tunes on the tin whistle and somehow dozed off into the dreamland of turf.

Bog Week is more though than a celebration of the bog. It's about celebrating the beginning of summer and with it, an enlivening spirit of merrymaking. Varying degrees of madness are accepted and musicmaking til the wee hours is a prerequisite to any partying during Bog Week.

Leo Hallissey, teacher, environmentalist and host extraordinaire continues to keep these week long affairs together. Between co-ordinating Fun Run with Youth In Action and ensuring musicians aren't left thirsty, he has it tough. Somehow he concocts these weeks with flair and ease.

The first weekend was taken up with Music workshops held in the National school, Letterfrack. The darling of all instruments, the little concertina, the accordion and the guitar were given the full whack by over-enthusiastic students. Teachers battled with ornamentation, new tunes and new ideas while students, red with anticipation renewed promises with themselves to practise more often! Over all, the workshops were a great success with over 40 participating students. Sunday was taken up with the Fun Run race which has now seeped into other villages across Connemara. Games and race events took place in the afternoon with old rivals working themselves into competition in Letterfrack. In Veldons, Tommy Carew and his crew provided the punters with a dose of lunacy between songs, music and dance.

Over the following bank holiday weekend, Letterfrack was in bright blooming colours of sunshine, blue skies and invading midges. Musically, It was in all seriousness better than any fleadh Cheol. You simply wouldn't find that quality at a fleadh. With musicians like Josephine Marsh, Declan Corey, Sharon Shannon, Mary Staunton, Gerry Mulvihill, Donal Lunny, Dessie O'Halloran, John Nee, Mary Shannon and the rest of the Woodchoppers, the sessions can be left to one's imagination. Superb.

Environmentally, The weekend walkabout was an interesting collaboration between artists, musicians, poets and scientists. I wonder what great secrets were revealed???!!!As usual I can only hazard a quess..late night music sessions are my thang!!!The morning birds sung me to sleep every night during the weekend yet again.

As the last note rung out in the Renvyle Inn on Monday night, the realisation dawned that this bogweek was the last of the 20th century. As I dawdled off home to my bed, I thought about music, the environment and poetry and how we all live off each other...and long may we continue. (14/6)

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Also by Ita Kane:
'Truelight' Adventuring
Storm on the Titanic: Interview with Patrick Murphy from Gaelic Storm
Traumatised L driver seeks other traumatised L drivers
B+B hoopla, rootseekers and Leaving Cert memories
New Year Blues in November
Bog Week Splendour

Read Ita's travels in the Far East
From East to West

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