Bogmen, be warned. The annual ball is back at Maam Cross, Connemara, where preparations are also under way for tomorrow's annual autumn fair.
Unfortunately, so excited was this newspaper about the ball's revival after a two-year lapse that we listed the wrong date in The Irish Times 10 days ago. In fact, it is to be held on November 18th in Peacocke's Hotel, Maam Cross, and tickets are available at £45 a head, with proceeds going to Croi, the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation.
Songs, poems and "scealta" have been written about it since 1959, when the first of many annual dances was held to mark the saving of the turf. The fuel was then vital for Screebe power station, Renmore Army barracks and fires all over the west.
Last year, due to renovations in Peacocke's, the ball was cancelled, causing "devastation" and "disappointment" all over the county, according to the Keogh family, owners of the hotel.
The programme for the five-course meal includes a traditional demonstration of saving turf and cooking steaks on shovels over an open fire. Guests will be invited to visit The Quiet Man cottage on arrival and witness poteen being made, and will be invited to taste some bog water punch.
For ticket inquiries, contact Mary at (091) 552306. And don't forget: Big men, small men, some not too tall, All wanted urgently for the Bogman's Ball . . .