Bórd na Móna

Bord na Móna, commonly abbreviated as BnM, is an Irish semi-state company whose origins lie in the development of Ireland’s peat resources. It was first incorporated in 1933 as the Turf Development Board, Limited, with a mandate to improve the turf industry, drain bogs and expand the production of indigenous fuel. The organization was reconstituted under the Turf Development Act 1946 and adopted the name Bord na Móna, meaning “Peat Board” in Irish. Its creation reflected the economic and energy-security pressures of the Second World War, when Ireland faced reduced coal imports and sought a dependable domestic fuel source. From the 1950s onward, Bord na Móna industrialized peat extraction on a scale previously unseen in Ireland. Mechanized milled-peat production replaced much of the earlier manual cutting of sods. The company constructed drainage systems, narrow-gauge railways, workshops, factories and power-station supply networks across the Midlands and other peat-producing regions. Counties including Kildare, Offaly, Galway, Longford, Roscommon and Tipperary became central to its operations. Peat was supplied to Electricity Supply Board stations and to Bord na Móna’s own generating assets, while the company also developed domestic fuel products such as compressed peat briquettes and horticultural peat products. The company’s activities broadened substantially over time. In addition to peat extraction and fuel logistics, its portfolio came to include biomass procurement and supply, power generation, renewable energy, waste recovery, domestic heating products, professional and consumer horticulture, tourism and community amenities. Its industrial railway network was one of the largest narrow-gauge industrial systems in Europe, carrying peat from bogs to power stations, factories and transfer points. The network also supported tourism for a period through the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, often known as the Bog Train. Bord na Móna’s historical role has been accompanied by environmental criticism. Peat extraction altered bog hydrology, landscapes and habitats, and peat combustion became increasingly difficult to reconcile with biodiversity protection and climate policy. The company also attracted criticism concerning state support for peat-based operations. At the same time, Bord na Móna developed conservation and rehabilitation programs, helped protect several important bogs, and published biodiversity action plans in 2010 and 2016. A major strategic turning point came in 2015, when the company announced that it would end peat harvesting for electricity generation by 2030 while retaining some peat-related activity for horticulture and domestic fuels. In 2020 it announced a broader phase-out of peat harvesting in Ireland and said that affected employees would be reassigned to bog rehabilitation and related work rather than made redundant. Peat-fired electricity generation subsequently declined sharply: the remaining company and state-sector stations closed or transitioned away from peat, and Edenderry Power moved to biomass fuel in December 2023. The final Bord na Móna briquette factory, at Derrinlough, closed in June 2023, while the associated railway system has been progressively wound down. Today, Bord na Móna is best understood as a land, energy and environmental-transition company rather than solely as a peat producer. Its continuing activities include renewable-energy development, waste and resource recovery, biomass, horticultural products, land management, peatland rehabilitation, biodiversity work and community or amenity projects. Its business transformation reflects Ireland’s shift from domestic peat dependency toward renewable energy, circular-economy services and the restoration of cutaway boglands.

Bord na Móna was established against the background of Ireland’s search for an indigenous fuel supply. The organization began in 1933 as the Turf Development Board, Limited. Its purpose was to improve the turf industry, drain bogs and organize production more systematically. During the Second World War, declining coal imports and wider fuel shortages increased the strategic importance of peat. Irish production rose significantly as emergency fuel programs expanded, reinforcing the government’s interest in mechanized bog development. The Turf Development Board was transformed by the Turf Development Act 1946. It became a statutory company and was renamed Bord na Móna. The new structure gave it a broader national role: to mechanize turf production, develop bogs and sell peat at prices that could compete with imported fuels. From the 1950s, the company increasingly relied on milled peat. Tractors and specialized harvesting equipment scraped peat from drained bog surfaces, gathered it into ridges and transferred it to stockpiles. Railways then moved the material to power stations, briquette factories, horticultural facilities and roadside transfer points. Bord na Móna’s industrial system expanded across the Irish Midlands. Its approximately three-foot-gauge railway network ultimately connected numerous bogs and industrial sites, with permanent and temporary track being repeatedly laid and lifted as harvesting fronts moved. At its height, the system carried millions of tonnes annually over hundreds of miles of route. The company designed and maintained locomotives, wagons, track equipment and workshops, creating an integrated production and transport system rather than simply operating mines or fuel depots. The company also developed processed peat products. Peat briquettes, made by shredding and compressing peat, offered a cleaner and more easily handled domestic fuel than loose sods. The Derrinlough briquette factory in County Offaly opened in 1959 after financing arranged in the late 1950s, and it became the last surviving briquette facility before closing in 2023. Bord na Móna also produced peat moss and other growing media for horticultural use. Peat was supplied to Electricity Supply Board power stations as well as to Bord na Móna’s own generating facilities, including Edenderry Power. Industrial peat production produced substantial economic benefits for communities in the Midlands, but it also transformed bog ecosystems. Drainage and extraction altered habitats and reduced the ecological integrity of some peatlands. From the 1970s, Bord na Móna employees helped advance conservation initiatives that supported the preservation of sites including Pollardstown Fen and Raheenmore Bog. Further conservation work during the 1980s and 1990s involved locations such as Bellacorick Flush, Mongan Bog, Clara Bog and All Saints Bog. These sites later came under the management of conservation bodies and public agencies. The company formalized its environmental work through a Biodiversity Action Plan launched in 2010 and a second plan issued in 2016. These plans addressed rehabilitation, natural colonization and the future management of cutaway bogs. They became increasingly important as climate policy and biodiversity concerns challenged the long-term viability of peat-fired generation. Bord na Móna announced in 2015 that peat harvesting for electricity generation would end by 2030. In 2020 it announced a phase-out of peat harvesting in Ireland and proposed redeploying workers to rehabilitation programs. The transition accelerated during the 2020s. Ireland’s peat-fired stations closed or moved away from peat, while Edenderry Power became a biomass-only facility in December 2023. The Derrinlough briquette factory closed in June 2023, and the extensive bog railway system began to disappear as extraction declined. The company nevertheless retained or expanded activities in biomass, renewable energy, waste recovery, horticulture, land management, community amenities and ecological restoration. Its modern identity therefore combines the legacy of a national peat industry with the practical and environmental requirements of Ireland’s energy transition.

• 2025

  Reported rebranding as BnM

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports that the company changed its name to BnM in September 2025.

• 2024

  Two locomotives sold to Isle of Man Railway

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Two relatively modern locomotives were sold as Bord na Móna reduced its peat railway operations.

• 2023

  Derrinlough factory closes

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The last remaining Bord na Móna briquette factory closed in June 2023.

• 2023

  Edenderry Power becomes biomass-only

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Edenderry Power transitioned to 100% biomass in December 2023, ending the company’s use of peat at the station.

• 2021

  Peat briquettes scheduled for withdrawal

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced that peat briquettes would no longer be available after 2024.

• 2020

  Peat harvesting phase-out announced

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Bord na Móna announced a broader phase-out of peat harvesting and said workers would be reassigned to bog restoration projects.

• 2016

  Second Biodiversity Action Plan issued

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  A second plan extended the company’s rehabilitation and biodiversity objectives in light of the planned reduction in peat-based electricity.

• 2015

  End of peat for power generation announced

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced that peat harvesting for electricity generation would stop by 2030, while some peat activity would continue for horticulture and fuels.

• 2010

  First Biodiversity Action Plan published

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Bord na Móna introduced a five-year plan covering rehabilitation, natural colonization and biodiversity on its cutaway bogs.

• 2008

  Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway tourism service ends

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s Bog Train tourism service ceased permanently because it conflicted with heavy peat traffic serving West Offaly Power Station.

• 1970

  Employee-led bog conservation initiatives expand

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  Bord na Móna employees supported the preservation of important peatland sites, including Pollardstown Fen and Raheenmore Bog.

• 1959

  Derrinlough briquette factory opens

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The Derrinlough factory in County Offaly began producing compressed peat briquettes for domestic fuel use.

• 1946

  Bord na Móna created under statute

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The Turf Development Board was renamed Bord na Móna and converted into a statutory company under the Turf Development Act 1946.

• 1933

  Turf Development Board established

  [1]Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org

  The Turf Development Board, Limited was formed to develop Ireland’s turf industry, drain bogs and organize peat production.

An Irish state-backed land and energy-transition enterprise evolving from mechanized peat production into renewable energy, resource recovery, horticulture and large-scale peatland rehabilitation.

• Domestic fuel · 1959

  Peat briquettes

  Compressed briquettes made from shredded peat were developed as a standardized domestic fuel that was easier to store, transport and burn than loose sods. The first Bord na Móna briquette factory opened at Derrinlough in 1959. Briquettes were a significant part of the company’s traditional consumer-fuel business, but production ended when the Derrinlough facility closed in June 2023.

• Industrial fuel · 1950

  Milled peat

  Milled peat was produced by scraping and drying layers from drained bog surfaces, then gathering the material into stockpiles for transport. It became the dominant industrial harvesting method from the 1950s and supplied electricity stations, briquette factories and other facilities. Its use declined as Ireland closed peat-fired generation and Bord na Móna moved toward biomass and renewable energy.

• Horticulture

  Peat moss and growing media

  Bord na Móna developed peat-based growing media for horticulture, including products combining peat and soil for pot plants and professional cultivation. Horticulture remained one of the areas in which peat-related materials continued after the planned end of peat use in power generation, although the company’s wider transition has increased the importance of alternative and more sustainable growing media.

• Renewable energy and fuel supply

  Biomass fuel supply

  Biomass procurement and supply became an important successor activity to peat fuel. The business supports the sourcing and delivery of wood-based and other biomass fuels for energy generation, including the transition of Edenderry Power to 100% biomass in 2023.

• Energy generation

  Renewable energy

  Renewable-energy development and generation form part of Bord na Móna’s post-peat strategy. This activity sits alongside biomass, land management and rehabilitation, reflecting the company’s transformation from a national peat-fuel operator into an energy-transition enterprise.

• Environmental services

  Waste recovery

  Waste recovery and resource-management services broadened Bord na Móna’s business beyond energy and horticulture. The activity supports the company’s role in the circular economy and gives it an operating area less dependent on extraction of peat resources.

• Land management and ecological restoration

  Peatland rehabilitation

  Rehabilitation involves restoring spent or cutaway bogs through land preparation, rewetting or other management measures, natural colonization and the establishment of suitable vegetation. Bord na Móna has increasingly redirected operational capacity and employees toward rehabilitation as peat extraction and peat-fired generation decline.

• Environmental criticism of peat extraction and subsidies

  Bord na Móna has faced criticism that industrial peat extraction damages bog biodiversity and that public support for peat-based operations prolonged an environmentally harmful fuel system. The company’s historical operations altered peatland landscapes, while its later rehabilitation and biodiversity programs sought to mitigate some of those effects.

  Source

Read more

• 2016Second Biodiversity Action Plan

  Ireland

  The second plan built on the company’s earlier conservation work and considered the future of its peatlands as electricity generation moved away from peat.

  Outcome. It linked biodiversity and bog rehabilitation more directly to the company’s planned industrial transition.

  Source
• 2010First Biodiversity Action Plan

  Ireland

  Bord na Móna launched its first Biodiversity Action Plan, setting objectives for rehabilitation, natural colonization and biodiversity management across its cutaway bogs.

  Outcome. The plan established a formal framework for biodiversity work and was followed by a second action plan in 2016.

  Source

• 2023

  Edenderry Power conversion to biomassGeneration change

  Background

  Peat-fired generation was being retired as Ireland shifted toward lower-carbon energy sources.

  Action taken

  Edenderry Power transitioned to 100% biomass fuel in December 2023.

  Aftermath

  The conversion ended peat use at the company’s Edenderry station and reinforced its repositioning around biomass and renewable energy.

  Source

• 2023

  Closure of Derrinlough briquette factoryOther

  Background

  Demand and policy conditions had made traditional peat briquette production increasingly incompatible with Bord na Móna’s strategic transition.

  Action taken

  The Derrinlough facility, the last of the company’s briquette factories, closed in June 2023.

  Aftermath

  The closure ended a major chapter in Bord na Móna’s domestic peat-fuel manufacturing history.

  Source

• 2021

  Withdrawal of peat briquettesOther

  Background

  The company was moving away from peat fuels in response to the energy transition and environmental policy.

  Action taken

  Bord na Móna announced that peat briquettes would no longer be available after 2024.

  Aftermath

  The decision marked a further contraction of the company’s traditional domestic-fuel portfolio and preceded the closure of the Derrinlough factory in 2023.

  Source

• 2020

  Broader phase-out of peat harvestingStrategy

  Background

  The company’s peat-fired generation activities were declining and environmental concerns surrounding peat extraction had intensified.

  Action taken

  Bord na Móna announced that it was phasing out peat harvesting in Ireland and that existing peat workers would be reassigned to bog reclamation projects.

  Aftermath

  Peat extraction, peat rail logistics and peat-fired electricity were progressively reduced, while restoration became a larger operational focus.

  Source

• 2015

  Plan to end peat harvesting for electricity generationStrategy

  Background

  Climate policy, biodiversity concerns and the declining role of peat in electricity generation challenged the long-term viability of the company’s traditional fuel model.

  Action taken

  Bord na Móna announced that it would stop harvesting peat for power generation by 2030 while retaining some peat activity for horticulture and domestic fuels.

  Aftermath

  The announcement began a long-term shift toward renewable energy, biomass, waste recovery and peatland rehabilitation.

  Source

1. 1Bórd na Mónaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bord na Móna official websitebordnamona.ie