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The Bog of Allen , six miles to the north of Kildare around the village of Rathangan, marks the beginning of what was a great belt of bogland stretching westward across the country to Shannon and beyond. It's figured in Irish history and legend since prehistoric times, though these days only small pockets of it remain. LULLYMORE , five miles northeast of Rathangan, at the foot of the Hill of Allen, site of the legendary Finn MacCool's palace, offers a good opportunity to get to grips with the life of the bogs, past and present. The place - its name means "great dairy pasture" - is an island in the bog where St Patrick reputedly appointed Eve, an early convert, to run a training college for monks. Peatland World (April-Oct Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-6pm; Nov-March Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm; GBP3/?3.81), housed in the eighteenth-century stable block of Lullymore House, provides a comprehensive introduction to Irish bogs and includes exhibitions on conservation, energy production, and plant and animal life, together with a history of the area and the estate itself. Bear in mind, though, that the project is supported by both Bord na Mona (the Irish Peat Board) and the Electricity Supply Board, whose attitudes to bogland conservation may not necessarily coincide with your own. Further insights into the area's history are provided by the nearby Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park (Easter-Oct Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun noon-6pm; Nov-Easter Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm; GBP3.50/?4.44), set in wooded parkland, with reconstructions of a Mesolithic campsite, a Neolithic farmstead, an exhibition on early Christian history, and displays covering social history from the eighteenth century onwards. The entrance fee also includes access to crazy golf and a children's playground.
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