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Bog Child

Bog Child. By Siobhan Dowd. Summary.

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Bog Child

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  1. Bog Child By Siobhan Dowd

  2. Summary • “While cutting peat in the Irish hills, Fergus McCann and his uncle discover a body preserved by the bog. Archaeologists and politicians fight over the find, while Fergus starts to dream about the past of the bog child he names ‘Mel.’ Dowd slowly reveals the story of Mel’s mysterious death, an apparent murder, amid the 1980s troubles of Northern Ireland and the hunger strike of the Long Kesh political prisoners. Fergus’ imprisoned older brother joins the strike as Fergus is blackmailed into delivering packages that may contain bomb-making supplies.” -Booklist qtd. in Amazon.com

  3. When & Where • The story takes place near the border between the North and South of Ireland in 1981.

  4. Hunger Strike & Italics • The hunger strike referenced is real though the character we follow (Joe, Fergus’ brother) is fictional. • The italics are almost always “flashbacks” to the story of Mel, the body found in the peat.

  5. Terms to know • North/South border of Ireland (the Republic of Ireland v. Northern Ireland) • Troubles (the conflict) • Unionists (connection to England) • RUC=Royal Ulster Constabulary/police in the North • Margaret Thatcher=England’s Prime Minister

  6. Terms to know • Nationalists/Republicans (united Ireland) • Provo=Provisional IRA supports this cause • Bobby Sands=former IRA member who went on a hunger strike in prison for rights of a POW • Maze/Long Kesh=the prison where Sands and Joe (the main character’s brother) are in prison • Gardai=police in the Republic of Ireland

  7. What is a bog? • A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidicpeat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arcticclimates, lichens.

  8. What is peat? • Peat (turf) is an accumulation of partially decayedvegetationmatter or histosol. Peat forms in wetlandbogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world.

  9. Bog & Peat Images • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peat_Lewis.jpg • http://www.aroundireland.net/2006/08/the_peat_bog_exhibit.html • http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-37264732/stock-photo-peat-bogs-and-dug-up-peat-piles-for-home-fires-achill-island-county-mayo-ireland.html

  10. Bodies in the bog • http://crypohunter.webs.com/peatbog.htm • http://www.crystalinks.com/bogbodies.html • http://annoyzview.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/some-mysteries-surrounding-bog-bodies-revealed/

  11. Sources • Wikipedia (for bog and peat information)

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