Barney, back in November, when we did the chat, and met him for the first time at Michael Kelly's farm on Cloonlarge Bog and then in June when we returned to catch up.

Barney Donlon, still farming in his mid 80s, shared his own bogland stories, and a lifetime with Bord na Móna, with us in Cloonlarge Bog, Co Roscommon #LoveBogs soundcloud.com/athena-media... #WheretheCurlewCalls

We're hosting Luke Casserly's bog inspired show Distillation in Kilcormac in August, at the newly refurbished Fiesta Hall, we've a handful of gift tickets for bog lovers in the Midlands - email tocharstories@gmail.com if interested in coming? #LoveBogs @tinaclaffey.bsky.social

Chatting with veteran bog volunteer Hugh Shepherd in Abbeyleix about a lifetime of paying attention - to nature. @tocharstories.bsky.social #LoveBogs

Amazing who you can meet on a bog loop walk in Abbeyleix #LoveBogs #ireland - what does the bog mean to you? Melissa Casey, an Australian who has found a home in Ireland's Midlands and a love for Irish bogs and macro photography shares her passion.

We asked Ciaran Duggan, chair of Carbury Bogs Trust, for his wish for the future - and he connected nature conservation with community resilience and how people connecting to nature, through their local landscape and bogs, was a starting place. #LoveBogs @tocharstories.bsky.social

Sean mooney on how his late father John and uncle Richard found Ireland's oldest wheel technology while cutting turf by sleán in the late 1960s in Roscommon @tocharstories.bsky.social

We've been collecting stories, songs and memories in the Mountbellew Men's Shed, Galway - just beside the Galway Living Bog - a great group of men - with stories of growing up at the bog and working on it #LoveBogs

When we work with primary schools on exploring their local bog - we match them with an artist - in Ballydangan Bog it was Longford community artist Sophie Carroll Hunt who mentored the children of Camcloon NS on their bog collage - we asked her how she found it.

One word to describe the bog - what the children of Camcloon NS said to @katiesmirnova.bsky.social #Roscommon #LoveBogs

Ruth picked a Holly Blue in our bog butterfly and art creativity project #Kilteevan Roscommon and said it inspired her to get more into nature and be curious about bog wildlife. We ran the project in June and came back this month with postcards for the children of their artwork and stamps! #LoveBogs

Songs are powerful stories that connect us #Mountbellew Men's Shed at the Galway Living Bog let us into their stories and their songs in a revival of the traditional 'rambling house' session @tocharstories.bsky.social @athenamediaie.bsky.social

that's good to hear ! We just did a little piece with Ballydangan Bog and Pat Feehily about the increase in curlew there since bog conservation work began - as he and David Fallon were sharing the story with local school children in an art bog project under #TócharStories

The Tyrrellspass primary school children also got a surprise when the biodiversity Minister Christopher O Sullivan joined them for a lunchtime outdoor briefing #LoveBogs

Wonderful day in @nmireland.bsky.social with Matthew Lester guiding our St Anne's Tyrrellspass Westmeath children. They were determined to see all three bog bodies, fascinated by Matthew's stories, and several of them already plotting a return family trip to the Museum. Do visit! #LoveBogs

We had a wonderful morning yesterday with the children of #Kilteevan NS Roscommon when we brought back their postcard series from their June bog butterfly art project with @anniehollandart.bsky.social and Eileen Fahey - we also left them a box of stamps so they can start to send them out !

Eugene Dunbar in Tyrrellspass, Westmeath is a force for nature! We've been working with him all year as part of #TócharStories and he mentored the local primary school for our art-bog project. Next week we take the children to the National Museum to see the bog treasures #LoveBogs

We're working with primary schools close to bogs and facilitating children to connect with their local bog through art and experience. Artist @anniehollandart.bsky.social was the mentor in our Tyrrellspass /Cloncrow Bog project with Eugene Dunbar and St Anne's NS #:LoveBogs

Badge making is the best fun #LoveBogs #BallydanganRedGrouseProject

Halloween is a wonderful time to explore bogs with children #Ballydangan - we spent all last week with the Ballydangan Bog Red Grouse Project and the children of Camcloon NS #LoveBogs - where the children got to know the bog, spend time there, and create their own art collage of it #curlews

We're just printing postcards of the children's artwork from our bog talk/walk and art creativity project in #Kilteevan Roscommon - aren't these beautiful? Contact us if you'd like to receive postcards from the series - follow us and DM #Spéirghorm #LoveBogs #CloonlargeBog

we're in school all week and we've matched the bog talk and walk with a creative design workshop for the children led by Longford artist Sophie Carroll Hunt - so they children from Camcloon NS will create their own bog collage for Friday - their last school day before the halloween break #LoveBogs

Lively (and mostly dry day) on Ballydangan Bog, Roscommon where we're working with children from Camcloon NS - just minutes from bog. Katie Smirnova, who works with Tóchar Stories as a naturist, and Pat Feehily, local bog custodian from Ballydangan Red Grouse Bog Project were our guides. #LoveBogs

Creating postcards from our bog nature & creative art project in Kilteevan NS/ Kilteevan Tidy Towns on Cloonlarge Bog (art mentored by @anniehollandart.bsky.social) Just want to showcase one of the beautiful pieces by a then 2nd class boy- Hadi - and his version of the common Blue #Tócharstories

Amazing day in #Kilcormac #Offaly last week - sharing a community storytelling workshop with @tinaclaffey.bsky.social followed by a guided heritage walking tour - a walking, story talking tour, led by volunteers. Our thanks to Kilcormac Development Association for co-hosting with us. #lovebogs

Therese Kelly, conservation officer, @npwsireland.bsky.social was our partner on our Heritage Week bog talk and walk #CloonlargeBog last month - we asked her about her own relationship with the #bogs

and in Tyrrellspass the children's artwork, mentored by @anniehollandart.bsky.social, now greets visitors to the Bog boardwalk loop. Here's the moment when the children unveiled it in June and class with Annie, @athenamediaie.bsky.social, Eugene Dunbar and teacher Laura Lynch on the boardwalk.

We've been working with artist @anniehollandart.bsky.social on our primary school projects, in Tyrrellspass, Westmeath & Kilteevan, Roscommon, bringing #bog nature and creative #art together. Sharing a few eye-catching moments: Here's Yasmin in Kilteevan with her Marsh Fritillary butterfly

Our group shot of the #bog walk in #cloonlarge #LoughRee on Saturday with #Kilteevan community, NPWS with local volunteer leader Eileen Fahey and Tóchar naturist and guide Katie Smirnova. #NationalHeritageWeek

Glorious day on Saturday in Kilteevan #HeritageWeek as we co-hosted a bog talk/ walk in #CloonlargeBog with local Kilteevan community and NPWS @npwsireland.bsky.social sharing the how & why of bog restoration /rehabilitation and then a sunny 2.5km bog loop enjoying the day, led by Katie Smirnova