Rosary Beads carved from a sod of turf.

Tullamore man, Tom Ruane, created this unique Rosary Beads by carving all of the individual beads from a single sod of turf before stringing them together with flexible wire.

Tom had the beads blessed and mounted in a secure frame  for ease of display in his home. He has also included a brief piece on the formation of Irish bogs as well as a miniature sod of turf.

The set of beads is one of his most cherished possessions.

The Caption Reads:
Peat or Turf is the soil of the great Irish bogs which were formed as the pools and lakes left behind after the last Ice Age filled up with deads vegetation.

The people of ancient Ireland discovered that the sods of turf, when dried,
made excellent fuel for their fires.

Even today much of the turf burnt in rural Irish homes is hand won from the bogs using the traditional spade-like cutting tool, the sleán (pronounced 'slaun').

The whole family is usually involved in cutting, saving and drawing home their fuel from the bog.

Tom Ruane 8/10/2007

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