The Art of Turf Cutting

Irish Traditions

Traditional turf-cutting methods have not changed since ancient times. The bog was always drained before cutting began. A main drain was opened across the bog with sub-drains cross-connecting with the main drain. A scraitheog or scraw cutter was used to cut away the top scraw or 50cm. The scraitheog was made from pliable wood such as ash, and with a blade made from scrap metal. The wide handle enabled a person to push and undercut the scraw with thighs and hands. The top scraw was thrown onto the previously cut lower area.


The turf was cut with a turf spade or sleán (slane). The sleán consists of an iron head and a long wooden shaft. The head has a flat blade, generally with a wing on one side, so that sods can be cut on two sides and detached with a single twist of the implement. There are basically two kinds of sleán, the Breast sleán and the Foot sleán, with two correspondingly different methods of cutting from the turf bank.

The sods of turf were cut and thrown up by the slanesman and loaded onto special wheel barrows by helpers (barrow men) who removed them from the bank and tipped them onto the spreading ground. After a week, depending on the weather, the turf was footed i.e. stacked into pyramids of 4-6 sods. This allowed air to circulate between the sods. Freshly cut turf has a moisture content of approximately 95%. This is reduced to around 30% when dry.

The Lullymore turf-cutter Christie Daly, was reputed to be the fastest slanesman of all time cutting 100 sods a minute!