UNESCO has recognized the vast boglands of central Ireland as a World Heritage site, honoring the millennia of human interaction with these unique ecosystems. The designation focuses on the cultural landscape formed by traditional peat extraction, which has inadvertently preserved thousands of years of history, from Iron Age trackways to preserved medieval artifacts.
The site includes the Corlea Trackway and several restored bog systems where ancient rituals were once performed. The listing aims to balance the preservation of the archaeological record with the modern ecological restoration of the peatlands as carbon sinks, marking a shift toward recognizing 'living' and evolving cultural landscapes.