Black Rock Mountain has always played a significant role in local life. For centuries, people have made use of the resources provided by the mountain, although in recent years this changed from farming to leisure and outdoor activities.
Booley huts show the remains of agricultural practices that were once important locally. As recently as the 1800s, farmers brought their animals (usually cattle) up the slopes of the mountain to graze for the summer. This made use of the grass growing upland, and importantly freed up space in the fields below to grow crops for families and animals. This process was known as booleying, from the Irish ‘buaile,’ meaning milking place or enclosure in a summer cattle pasture.
For centuries, Irish people have used turf as a vital and inexpensive fuel source for cooking and heating homes. Although a local landowner constructed a road which ended near Moneer Bog in the 1840s, this particular bog was not widely used by locals. During World War II, fuel was scarce and the Government began a scheme to increase fuel production, this site was chosen. The turf cutter’s hut was built to provide shelter for the people who worked harvesting turf from this bog.
Although booleying is no longer practised and the harvesting of turf is being phased out due to environmental concerns, Black Rock Mountain is still regularly used by locals as a place for exercise and recreation.