Road - class 3 togher, Derrynagran, Co. Longford

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Roads & Tracks

Road – class 3 togher, Derrynagran, Co. Longford

Buried in the bogland of Derrynagran in County Longford lies a road that no wheeled vehicle ever travelled.

It is a togher, an ancient form of trackway built from timber laid across wet or unstable ground to allow people and animals to pass through terrain that would otherwise have swallowed them. This particular example is modest in its construction, a compact bundle of six roundwood poles of ash and oak, each averaging around six centimetres in diameter, laid in a northwest to southeast orientation with occasional transverse timbers placed beneath to provide a foundation. It is classified as a class 3 togher, meaning it belongs to a category of relatively simple, lightly built trackways rather than the more elaborate multi-layered roads found at grander bog sites.

The use of ash and oak is telling. Both were among the most valued timbers in early Ireland, ash for its flexibility and strength, oak for its durability in wet conditions. The roundwoods, essentially thin poles cut from branches or young trees, suggest a practical, low-effort construction intended to serve local need rather than to carry heavy traffic or connect distant settlements. Toghers of this type were typically laid directly onto the surface of a bog, making them vulnerable to being absorbed into the peat over centuries, which is precisely what preserved the timber in the first place. The anaerobic, acidic conditions of an Irish bog are among the most effective natural preservatives known, capable of keeping organic material intact for thousands of years.

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