Geography of Ireland
Encyclopedia
Ireland
is an island
in northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean
whose main geographical
features include low central plain
s surrounded by a ring of coastal mountain
s. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil , which is 1041 metres (3,415 ft) above sea level
. The western coast
line is rugged, with many islands, peninsula
s, headlands and bays
. The island is bisected by the River Shannon
, which at 386 km (240 mi) with a 113 km (70 mi) estuary
is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan
in Ulster
to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick
. There are a number of sizeable lake
s along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh
is the largest.
Politically, the island consists of the state, Ireland
, with jurisdiction over about five sixths of the island; and Northern Ireland
, a constituent country
of the United Kingdom, with jurisdiction over the remaining sixth. Located west of the island of Great Britain
, it is located at approximately 53°N 8°W. It has a total area of 84421 km² (32,595 sq mi). It is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea
and from mainland Europe by the Celtic Sea
.
Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands, are known collectively as the British Isles
; as the term British Isles is controversial
in relation to Ireland, the alternate term Ireland and Britain
is often used as a neutral term for the islands.
is about 1.7 billion years old and is found on Inishtrahull Island
off the coast of County Donegal
. and also at Annagh Head in north west County Mayo
. In other parts of Donegal, scientist
s have discovered rocks that began life as glacial
deposits, demonstrating that at this early period, part of what was to become Ireland was in the grip of an ice age
. However, because of the effects of later upheavals, it is almost impossible to sequence these early rock layers correctly.
About 600 million years ago, at the end of the Precambrian
super-eon, the Irish landmass was divided in two, with one half on the western side of the Iapetus Ocean
and the other at the eastern side, both at about the latitude
that of around 80° South, close to what is now northwest Africa. From the evidence of fossils found at Bray Head
in County Wicklow
, Ireland was below sea level at this time.
Over the next 50 million years, these two parts drifted towards each other, eventually uniting about 440 million years ago. Fossil
s discovered near Clogherhead
, County Louth
, show the coming together of shoreline fauna
from both sides of the original dividing ocean
. The mountains of northwest Ireland were formed during the collision, as was the granite
that is found in locations in Donegal and Wicklow. The Irish landmass was now above sea level and lying near the equator
, and fossil traces of land-based life forms survive from this period. These include fossilised tree
s from Kiltorcan, County Kilkenny
, widespread bony fish
and freshwater mussel fossils and the footprints of a four-footed amphibian
preserved in slate
on Valentia Island
, County Kerry
. Old Red Sandstone
also formed at this time.
Between 400 million and 300 million years ago, northwest Europe – including Ireland – sank beneath a warm, calcium
-rich sea
. Great coral reef
s formed in these waters, eventually creating the limestone
that still makes up about 65 per cent of the rock mantle
of the island. As the waters receded, tropical forests and swamp
s flourished. The resulting vegetable
debris eventually formed coal
, most of which was later eroded. This period, known as the Carboniferous
period, ended with further tectonic movement which saw Ireland drift further northward. The resulting pressure created those Irish mountain and hill ranges that run in a northeast to southwest direction.
By 250 million years ago, Ireland was at the latitude of present-day Egypt
and had a desert climate
. It was at this time that most of the coal and sandstone
were eroded. The thinner layers of limestone in the south of the country were also partially affected by this erosion. The limestone that was exposed by the disappearance of its sandstone mantle was affected by carbon dioxide
and other factors resulting in a karst
ic landscape that can still be seen in the Burren
in County Clare
. Shortly after this period, organic debris in the seas around Ireland began to form the natural gas
and petroleum
deposits that now play an important role in the economy of Ireland. Then, about 150 million years ago, Ireland was again submerged, this time in a chalk
y sea that resulted in the formation of chalk
over large parts of the surface. Traces of this survive under the basalt
lava
that is found in parts of the north.
About 65 million years ago, the volcanic activity that formed this lava began. The Mourne Mountains and other mountains in the northern part of the island formed as a result of this activity. Climatic conditions at this time were warm and vegetation thrived. Vegetable debris in the Antrim
depression formed deposits of brown coal or lignite
which remain untouched down to the present time. The warm conditions produced high rain
fall that accelerated processes of erosion and the formation of karstic landscape forms.
By 25 million years ago, Ireland was close to assuming its present position. The long period of erosion had resulted in considerable soil
formation and most of the rock mantle was covered. In areas with good drainage
, the covering consisted of brown or grey soil, while in poorly drained areas the black clay
tended to dominate. As the climate cooled, soil formation slowed down, and a flora and fauna that would, millions of years later, be familiar to the first human
inhabitants began to emerge. By about three million years ago, the present landscape of Ireland had more or less formed.
Since about 1.7 million years ago, the earth has been in the grip of a cycle of warm and cold stages and these have, inevitably, affected Ireland. The earliest evidence we have for this effect comes from the period known as the Ballylinian Warm Stage, some half a million years ago. At this time, most of what are now considered to be native Irish trees were already established on the island. The action of the ice during the cold stages was the major factor in bringing the Irish landscape to its current form.
Obvious impacts of the ice
on the landscape include the formation of glacial valleys such as Glendalough
in Wicklow and of corrie
s, or glacial lakes. The depositing of mounds of debris under the melting ice created drumlin
s, a common feature of the landscape across the north midlands. Stream
s also formed under the ice and the material deposited by these formed esker
s (Irish
eiscir). The greatest of these, the Esker Riada
, divides the northern and southern halves of the island and its ridge once served as the main highway connecting the east and west coasts. About one half of the coastline consists of a low lying dune pasture land known as Machair
.
The large central lowland is of limestone
covered with glacial deposits of clay and sand, with widespread bog
s and lakes. The Bog of Allen
is one of the largest bogs. The coastal mountains vary greatly in geological structure. In the south, the mountains are composed of old red sandstone with limestone river valleys. In Galway
, Mayo
, Donegal, Down
and Wicklow, the mountains are mainly granite
, while much of the northeast of the country is a basalt
plateau. An area of particular note is the Giant's Causeway
, in Antrim, a mainly basalt formation caused by volcanic activity between 50–60 million years ago. The basalts were originally part of the great Thulean Plateau
formed during the Paleogene
period.
The soils of the north and west tend to be poorly drained peat
s and gley
s, including peaty podzols. In contrast, in the south and east the soils are free-draining brown earths and brown and grey-brown podzols. This is reflected in the rainfall distribution on the island, with the poorly drained regions being those with the highest rainfalls.
An unusual environment is present in north County Clare, in an area known as the Burren. This karst-like landscape consists of limestone bedrock
, with little or no soil in the inner-most areas. There are numerous sinkhole
s, where surface water disappears through the porous rock surface, and extensive cave systems have been formed in some areas. The Pol an Ionain
cave, near Doolin
, is the site of one of the world's longest known free-hanging stalactite
s.
Ireland consists of a mostly flat low-lying area in the midlands, ringed by mountain ranges such as (beginning in County Kerry and working counter-clockwise) the Macgillycuddy's Reeks
, Comeragh Mountains
, Blackstairs Mountains
, Wicklow Mountains
, the Mournes, Glens of Antrim
, Sperrin Mountains, Bluestack Mountains
, Derryveagh Mountains
, Ox Mountains
, Nephinbeg Mountains and the Twelve Bens
/Maumturks
group. Some mountain ranges are further inland in the south of Ireland, such as the Galtee Mountains
, the highest inland range, Silvermine
and Slieve Bloom Mountains
. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil, 1,038 m (3,405 ft) high, is in the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, a range of glacier-carved sandstone mountains in County Kerry, in the southwest of the island. The mountains are not high – only three peaks are over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) and another 457 exceed 500 m (1,640 ft).
The main river in Ireland is the River Shannon
, 386 km (239.8 mi), the longest river in either Ireland or Great Britain
, which separates the boggy midlands of Ireland from the West of Ireland. The river develops into three lakes along its course, Lough Allen
, Lough Ree
, and Lough Derg. Of these, Lough Derg is the largest. The River Shannon enters the Atlantic Ocean after Limerick city at the Shannon Estuary. Other major rivers include the River Liffey
, River Lee
, River Blackwater
, River Nore
, River Suir
, River Barrow
, River Bann
, River Foyle
, River Erne
, and River Boyne
. (See the list of rivers in Ireland.)
Lough Neagh
, in Ulster, is the largest lake in Ireland and the UK. Legend has it that a giant, Fionn mac Cumhail, was fighting with another in Scotland, and enraged, scooped out a lump of earth, which he threw. It fell into the Irish Sea
, creating the Isle of Man
, while the hole filled up with water to become Lough Neagh. Other large lakes include Lough Erne
and Lough Corrib
.
Beginning with County Donegal, Lough Swilly
separates one side of the Inishowen peninsula. Lough Foyle
on the other side, is one of Ireland's larger inlets, situated between County Donegal and County Londonderry
. Further round the coast is Belfast Lough
, between County Antrim and County Down. Also in County Down is Strangford Lough
, actually an inlet partially separating the Ards peninsula
from the mainland. Further down the coast, Carlingford Lough
is situated between Down and County Louth
.
Dublin Bay
is the next sizable inlet, while the eastern coast of Ireland is mostly uniform until Wexford Harbour
at the mouth of the River Slaney
. On the southern coast, Waterford Harbour
is situated at the mouth of the River Suir
(into which the other two of the Three Sisters
(River Nore
and River Barrow
) flow). The next major inlet is Cork Harbour
, at the mouth of the River Lee, in which Great Island
is situated.
Dunmanus Bay
, Bantry Bay
, Kenmare estuary and Dingle Bay
are all inlets between the peninsulas of County Kerry
. North of these is the Shannon estuary
. Between north County Clare and County Galway is Galway Bay
. Clew Bay
is located on the coast of County Mayo
, south of Achill Island
, while Broadhaven Bay
, Blacksod Bay
and Sruth Fada Conn bays are situated on the north west part of Connaught in North Mayo. Killala Bay
is on the north east coast of Mayo. Donegal Bay
is a major inlet between County Donegal and County Sligo.
is the most northerly point in Ireland, while Mizen Head
is one of the most southern points
, hence the term "Malin head to Mizen head" (or the reverse) is used for anything applying to the island of Ireland as a whole. Carnsore Point
is another extreme point of Ireland
, being the southeastern most point of Ireland. Further along the coast is Hook Head
while the Old Head of Kinsale
in is one of many headlands along the south coast of Ireland.
Loop Head
is the headland at which County Clare comes to a point on the west coast of Ireland, with the Atlantic on the north, and further inland on the south, the Shannon estuary. Hag's Head
is another headland further up Clare's north/western coastline, with the Cliffs of Moher
along the coastline north of the point.
Erris Head
is the northwesternmost point of Connacht
.
Achill Island, in the northwest, is the largest island off Ireland's coast. The island is inhabited, and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Some of the next largest islands are the Aran Islands
, off the coast of southern Connacht
, host to an Irish-speaking community, or Gaeltacht
. Valentia Island
off the Iveragh peninsula
is also one of Ireland's larger islands, and is relatively settled, as well as being connected by a bridge at its southeastern end. Omey Island
, off the coast of Connemara
is a tidal island
.
Some of the best-known peninsulas in Ireland are in County Kerry; the Dingle peninsula
, the aforementioned Iveragh peninsula and the Beara peninsula
. The Ards peninsula
is one of the larger peninsulas outside Kerry. The Inishowen
peninsula in County Donegal includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head and several important towns including Buncrana on Lough Swilly
, Carndonagh
and Moville
on Lough Foyle
. Ireland's most northerly land feature is Inishtrahull island, off Malin Head. Rockall
Island may deserve this honour but its status is disputed, being claimed by the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Denmark
(for the Faroe Islands
) and Iceland
. The most southerly point is the Fastnet Rock
.
, though significantly warmer than almost all other locations at similar latitude
, such as Poland (on mainland Europe) or Newfoundland
(on the opposite edge of the Atlantic), due to the warming influence of the North Atlantic drift
. The prevailing wind blows from the southwest, breaking on the high mountains of the west coast. Rainfall is therefore a particularly prominent part of western Irish life, with Valentia Island
, off the west coast of County Kerry
, getting almost twice as much annual rainfall as Dublin on the east (1400 mm (55.1 in) vs. 762 mm (30 in)). Across the country, about 60% of the annual rainfall occurs between August and January.
January and February are the coldest months of the year, and mean daily air temperatures fall between 4 and 7 °C (39.2 and 44.6 F) during these months. July and August are the warmest, with mean daily temperatures of 14 to 16 °C (57.2 to 60.8 F), whilst mean daily maximums in July and August vary from 17 to 18 °C (62.6 to 64.4 F) near the coast, to 19 to 20 °C (66.2 to 68 F) inland. The sunniest months are May and June, with an average of five to seven hours sunshine per day. Though extreme weather events in Ireland are comparatively rare when compared with other countries in the European Continent, they do occur. Explosive Atlantic depressions, occurring mainly in the months of December, January and February, can occasionally bring winds of up to 160 km/h (99 mph) to Western coastal counties; while the summer months, and particularly around late July/early August, sudden and violent thunderstorms can develop, more especially, but not exclusively, across midland and western areas of the country.
The table shows mean climate figures for the Dublin Airport weather station over a thirty-year period. Climate statistics based on the counties of Northern Ireland vary slightly but are not significantly different.
, Connacht
, Leinster
, Munster
and Ulster
, and 32 counties
. Six of the nine Ulster counties form Northern Ireland and the other 26 form the state, Ireland. The map shows the county boundaries for all 32 counties.
From an administrative viewpoint, 20 of the counties in the republic are units of local government. The other six have more than one local authority area, producing a total of 34 county-level authorities. Tipperary
has two ridings, North Tipperary
and South Tipperary
, originally established in 1838 and renamed in 2001. The cities of Dublin, Cork
, Limerick
, Galway
and Waterford
have city councils and are administered separately from the counties bearing those names. The remaining part of County Dublin
is split into Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
, Fingal, and South Dublin
.
Electoral areas in Ireland (the state), called constituencies in accordance with Irish law
, mostly follow county boundaries. Maintaining links to the county system is a mandatory consideration in the re-organisation of constituency boundaries.
In Northern Ireland, a major re-organisation of local government in 1973 replaced the six traditional counties and two county borough
s (Belfast
and Derry
) by 26 single-tier districts
, which, apart from Fermanagh cross the traditional county boundaries. The six counties and two county-boroughs remain in use for purposes such as Lieutenancy. In November 2005, proposals were announced which would see the number of local authorities reduced to seven.
The island's total population
of approximately 6 million people is concentrated on the east coast, particularly in Dublin and Belfast and their surrounding areas.
Ireland has 12,000 km² (4,633 miles²) of bog
land, consisting of two distinct types, blanket bogs and raised bogs. Blanket bogs are the more widespread of the two types. They are essentially a product of human activity aided by the moist Irish climate. Blanket bogs formed on sites where Neolithic
farmers cleared trees for farming. As the land so cleared fell into disuse, the soil began to leach and become more acidic, producing a suitable environment for the growth of heather
and rushes
. The debris from these plants accumulated and a layer of peat
formed. One of the largest expanses of Atlantic blanket bog in Ireland is to be found in Erris
, County Mayo
.
Raised bogs are most common in the Shannon basin. They formed when depressions left behind after the ice age filled with water to form lakes. Debris from reeds in these lakes formed a layer at the bottom of the water. This eventually choked the lakes and raised above the surface, forming raised bogs.
Since the 17th century, peat has been cut for fuel for domestic heating and cooking and it is called turf when so used. The process accelerated as commercial exploitation of bogs grew. In the 1940s, machines for cutting turf were introduced and larger-scale exploitation became possible. In the Republic, this became the responsibility of a semi-state company called Bord na Móna
. In addition to domestic uses, commercially extracted turf is used in a number of industries, especially electricity generation.
In recent years, the high level of bog being destroyed by cutting has raised environmental concerns. The problem is particularly acute for raised bogs as they yield a higher-grade fuel than blanket bogs. Plans are now in place in both the Republic and Northern Ireland to conserve most of the remaining raised bogs on the island.
began in 1970. The first major discovery was the Kinsale Head gas field
in 1971. Next was the smaller Ballycotton gas field in 1989, and the Corrib gas field in 1996. Exploitation of the Corrib project has yet to get off the ground because the controversial proposal
to refine the gas onshore, rather than at sea has been met with widespread opposition
. Gas from these fields is pumped ashore and used for both domestic and industrial purposes. The Helvick oil field, estimated to contain over 28 Moilbbl of oil, is another recent discovery. Ireland is the largest European producer of zinc
with three operating zinc-lead
mine
s at Navan
, Galmoy
and Lisheen
. Other mineral deposits with actual or potential commercial value include gold
, silver
, gypsum
, talc
, calcite
, dolomite
, roofing slate
, limestone
aggregate, building stone, sand
and gravel
.
In May 2007 the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (now replaced by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources) reported that there may be volumes over 130 Goilbbl of petroleum
and 50 Tcuft of natural gas in Irish waters - worth trillions of Euro
, if true. The minimum 'guaranteed' amount of oil in the Irish Atlantic waters is 10 Goilbbl, worth over €450 billion. There are also areas of petroleum and natural gas on shore, for example the Lough Allen
basin, with 9.4 Tcuft of gas and 1.5 Goilbbl of oil, valued at €74.4 billion. Already some fields are being exploited, such as the Spanish Point
field, with 1.25 Tcuft of gas and 206 Moilbbl of oil, valued at €19.6 billion. The Corrib Basin is also quite large, worth anything up to €87 billion, while the Dunquin gas field contains 25 Tcuft of natural gas and 4.13 Goilbbl of petroleum.
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Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
is an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
whose main geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
features include low central plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
s surrounded by a ring of coastal mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil , which is 1041 metres (3,415 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. The western coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
line is rugged, with many islands, peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
s, headlands and bays
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
. The island is bisected by the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, which at 386 km (240 mi) with a 113 km (70 mi) estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
. There are a number of sizeable lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
is the largest.
Politically, the island consists of the state, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, with jurisdiction over about five sixths of the island; and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, a constituent country
Constituent country
Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a part Constituent country is a phrase sometimes used in contexts...
of the United Kingdom, with jurisdiction over the remaining sixth. Located west of the island of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, it is located at approximately 53°N 8°W. It has a total area of 84421 km² (32,595 sq mi). It is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and from mainland Europe by the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
.
Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands, are known collectively as the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
; as the term British Isles is controversial
British Isles naming dispute
There is disagreement over the term "the British Isles", particularly with relation to Ireland. The term is defined in dictionaries as referring to Great Britain, Ireland and adjacent islands. However, the association between the word "British" and the United Kingdom causes the term to be regarded...
in relation to Ireland, the alternate term Ireland and Britain
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
is often used as a neutral term for the islands.
Geological development
The oldest known Irish rockRock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
is about 1.7 billion years old and is found on Inishtrahull Island
Inishtrahull Island
Inishtrahull is located approx north-east of Malin Head, Inishowen, County Donegal. It is the most northerly island of Ireland. The most northerly landfall of Ireland, the Tor Beg rock is located another one kilometer to the North West of Inishtrahull. Inishtrahull has an area of...
off the coast of County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. and also at Annagh Head in north west County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. In other parts of Donegal, scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s have discovered rocks that began life as glacial
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
deposits, demonstrating that at this early period, part of what was to become Ireland was in the grip of an ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. However, because of the effects of later upheavals, it is almost impossible to sequence these early rock layers correctly.
About 600 million years ago, at the end of the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
super-eon, the Irish landmass was divided in two, with one half on the western side of the Iapetus Ocean
Iapetus Ocean
The Iapetus Ocean was an ocean that existed in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale . The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia...
and the other at the eastern side, both at about the latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
that of around 80° South, close to what is now northwest Africa. From the evidence of fossils found at Bray Head
Bray Head
Bray Head is a hill and headland located in northern County Wicklow, Ireland, between the towns of Bray and Greystones. It forms part of the Wicklow Mountains and is a popular spot with hillwalkers. At the top of the head is a concrete cross which was placed there in 1950 during the holy year...
in County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland was below sea level at this time.
Over the next 50 million years, these two parts drifted towards each other, eventually uniting about 440 million years ago. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s discovered near Clogherhead
Clogherhead
Clogherhead is a fishing village in County Louth, Ireland. Located in a picturesque natural bay on the East Coast it is bordered by the villages of Annagassan to the north and Termonfeckin to the south. with an administrative population per the 2011 Census of 3026, it is in the townlands of...
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, show the coming together of shoreline fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
from both sides of the original dividing ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
. The mountains of northwest Ireland were formed during the collision, as was the granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
that is found in locations in Donegal and Wicklow. The Irish landmass was now above sea level and lying near the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, and fossil traces of land-based life forms survive from this period. These include fossilised tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s from Kiltorcan, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
, widespread bony fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and freshwater mussel fossils and the footprints of a four-footed amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
preserved in slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
on Valentia Island
Valentia Island
Valentia Island is one of Ireland's westernmost points, lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial bridge at Portmagee, as well as by a ferry which sails from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's...
, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject.-Sedimentology:...
also formed at this time.
Between 400 million and 300 million years ago, northwest Europe – including Ireland – sank beneath a warm, calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
-rich sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
. Great coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s formed in these waters, eventually creating the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
that still makes up about 65 per cent of the rock mantle
Mantle (geology)
The mantle is a part of a terrestrial planet or other rocky body large enough to have differentiation by density. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core....
of the island. As the waters receded, tropical forests and swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s flourished. The resulting vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
debris eventually formed coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, most of which was later eroded. This period, known as the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period, ended with further tectonic movement which saw Ireland drift further northward. The resulting pressure created those Irish mountain and hill ranges that run in a northeast to southwest direction.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and had a desert climate
Desert climate
A desert climate , also known as an arid climate, is a climate that does not meet the criteria to be classified as a polar climate, and in which precipitation is too low to sustain any vegetation at all, or at most a very scanty scrub.An area that features this climate usually experiences less than...
. It was at this time that most of the coal and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
were eroded. The thinner layers of limestone in the south of the country were also partially affected by this erosion. The limestone that was exposed by the disappearance of its sandstone mantle was affected by carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
and other factors resulting in a karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
ic landscape that can still be seen in the Burren
The Burren
The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...
in County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
. Shortly after this period, organic debris in the seas around Ireland began to form the natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
deposits that now play an important role in the economy of Ireland. Then, about 150 million years ago, Ireland was again submerged, this time in a chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
y sea that resulted in the formation of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
over large parts of the surface. Traces of this survive under the basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
that is found in parts of the north.
About 65 million years ago, the volcanic activity that formed this lava began. The Mourne Mountains and other mountains in the northern part of the island formed as a result of this activity. Climatic conditions at this time were warm and vegetation thrived. Vegetable debris in the Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
depression formed deposits of brown coal or lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
which remain untouched down to the present time. The warm conditions produced high rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
fall that accelerated processes of erosion and the formation of karstic landscape forms.
By 25 million years ago, Ireland was close to assuming its present position. The long period of erosion had resulted in considerable soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
formation and most of the rock mantle was covered. In areas with good drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
, the covering consisted of brown or grey soil, while in poorly drained areas the black clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
tended to dominate. As the climate cooled, soil formation slowed down, and a flora and fauna that would, millions of years later, be familiar to the first human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
inhabitants began to emerge. By about three million years ago, the present landscape of Ireland had more or less formed.
Since about 1.7 million years ago, the earth has been in the grip of a cycle of warm and cold stages and these have, inevitably, affected Ireland. The earliest evidence we have for this effect comes from the period known as the Ballylinian Warm Stage, some half a million years ago. At this time, most of what are now considered to be native Irish trees were already established on the island. The action of the ice during the cold stages was the major factor in bringing the Irish landscape to its current form.
Obvious impacts of the ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
on the landscape include the formation of glacial valleys such as Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
in Wicklow and of corrie
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s, or glacial lakes. The depositing of mounds of debris under the melting ice created drumlin
Drumlin
A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...
s, a common feature of the landscape across the north midlands. Stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s also formed under the ice and the material deposited by these formed esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
s (Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
eiscir). The greatest of these, the Esker Riada
Esker Riada
Esker Riada, , is a system of ridges that stretch across the middle of Ireland, between Dublin and Galway.-Geography:The Esker Riada is a collection of eskers, that passes through the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Offaly, Roscommon and Galway...
, divides the northern and southern halves of the island and its ridge once served as the main highway connecting the east and west coasts. About one half of the coastline consists of a low lying dune pasture land known as Machair
Machair (geography)
The machair refers to a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on some of the north-west coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides...
.
Rocks and soil types
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
covered with glacial deposits of clay and sand, with widespread bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s and lakes. The Bog of Allen
Bog of Allen
The Bog of Allen is a large raised bog in the centre of Ireland between the rivers Liffey and Shannon.The bog's 958 square kilometers stretch into County Offaly, County Meath, County Kildare, County Laois, and County Westmeath. Peat is mechanically harvested on a large scale by Bórd na Móna,...
is one of the largest bogs. The coastal mountains vary greatly in geological structure. In the south, the mountains are composed of old red sandstone with limestone river valleys. In Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Donegal, Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
and Wicklow, the mountains are mainly granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, while much of the northeast of the country is a basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
plateau. An area of particular note is the Giant's Causeway
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills...
, in Antrim, a mainly basalt formation caused by volcanic activity between 50–60 million years ago. The basalts were originally part of the great Thulean Plateau
Thulean Plateau
The Thulean Plateau also known as the Thulean Province, was a great basaltic lava plain that existed during the Paleogene Period, which possibly extended over 1,800,000 km2 in the northern Atlantic Ocean region...
formed during the Paleogene
Paleogene
The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that began 65.5 ± 0.3 and ended 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic Era...
period.
The soils of the north and west tend to be poorly drained peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
s and gley
Gley soil
Gley soil in soil science is a type of hydric soil which exhibits a greenish-blue-grey soil color due to wetland conditions. On exposure to the air, gley colors are transformed to a mottled pattern of reddish, yellow or orange patches. During gley soil formation , the oxygen supply in the soil...
s, including peaty podzols. In contrast, in the south and east the soils are free-draining brown earths and brown and grey-brown podzols. This is reflected in the rainfall distribution on the island, with the poorly drained regions being those with the highest rainfalls.
An unusual environment is present in north County Clare, in an area known as the Burren. This karst-like landscape consists of limestone bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
, with little or no soil in the inner-most areas. There are numerous sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s, where surface water disappears through the porous rock surface, and extensive cave systems have been formed in some areas. The Pol an Ionain
Pol an Ionain
Pol an Ionain is a limestone cave near Doolin in County Clare, Ireland, on the western edge of The Burren. The cave is accessible as a show cave and is marketed as Doolin Cave. There has been considerable controversy as to the development of the show cave.- The Great Stalactite :The cave's most...
cave, near Doolin
Doolin
Doolin is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It borders the spa town of Lisdoonvarna. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in its pubs, making it a popular tourist destination. There are numerous nearby archaeological sites, many...
, is the site of one of the world's longest known free-hanging stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s.
Mountain ranges
Macgillycuddy's Reeks
MacGillycuddy's Reeks is a mountain range in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. Stretching slightly over , it includes the highest peaks in Ireland and the only peaks on the island that are over . The highest of these is Corrán Tuathail or Carrauntoohil , followed by Binn Chaorach and Cathair na...
, Comeragh Mountains
Comeragh Mountains
The Comeragh Mountains are a glaciated mountain range situated in the south east of Ireland in County Waterford. They are located between the town of Clonmel on the County Tipperary border and the villages of Kilrossanty and Kilmacthomas in County Waterford.The twelve mountains which form the...
, Blackstairs Mountains
Blackstairs Mountains
The Blackstairs Mountains run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland.-See also:*List of mountains in Ireland...
, Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into Counties Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains...
, the Mournes, Glens of Antrim
Glens of Antrim
The Glens of Antrim , known locally as simply The Glens, is a region of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It comprises nine glens , that radiate from the Antrim Plateau to the coast. The Glens are an area of outstanding natural beauty and are a major tourist attraction in north Antrim...
, Sperrin Mountains, Bluestack Mountains
Bluestack Mountains
The Bluestack Mountains or Blue Stack Mountains, also called the Croaghgorms , are the major mountain range in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. They provide a barrier between the south of the county, such as Donegal Town and Ballyshannon, and the towns to the north and west such as Dungloe and...
, Derryveagh Mountains
Derryveagh Mountains
The Derryveagh Mountains is the major mountain range in County Donegal, Ireland. It makes up much of the landmass of the county, and is the area of Ireland with the lowest population density. The mountains separate the coastal parts of the county, such as Gweedore and Glenties, from the major...
, Ox Mountains
Ox Mountains
The Ox Mountains are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. They are also known as 'St Patrick's Mountain after St. Patrick, as he laboured much on it, raised churches on its slopes, and left his name to some of its wells, as for instance that of Dromard' . The highest peak...
, Nephinbeg Mountains and the Twelve Bens
Twelve Bens
The Twelve Bens, or Twelve Pins , is a mountain range of sharp-peaked quartzite ranges located northeast of Roundstone in Connemara in the west of Ireland. Dedicated fell runners attempt to hike all twelve peaks in a single day...
/Maumturks
Maumturks
Na Sléibhte Mhám Toirc are a picturesque mountain range in Connemara in the west of Ireland. They are less well known than their more famous neighbours, the Twelve Bens on the other side of the Inagh Valley...
group. Some mountain ranges are further inland in the south of Ireland, such as the Galtee Mountains
Galtee Mountains
The Galtee Mountains or Galty Mountains are a mountain range in Munster, located in Ireland's Golden Vale across parts of counties Limerick, South Tipperary and Cork. The name "Galtee" is thought to be a corruption of the Irish "Sléibhte na gCoillte" - "Mountains of the Forests" in English,...
, the highest inland range, Silvermine
Silvermine Mountains
The Silvermine Mountains are a mountain range situated in North Tipperary in Ireland...
and Slieve Bloom Mountains
Slieve Bloom Mountains
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland The Slieve Bloom Mountains rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards...
. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil, 1,038 m (3,405 ft) high, is in the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, a range of glacier-carved sandstone mountains in County Kerry, in the southwest of the island. The mountains are not high – only three peaks are over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) and another 457 exceed 500 m (1,640 ft).
Rivers and lakes
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, 386 km (239.8 mi), the longest river in either Ireland or Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, which separates the boggy midlands of Ireland from the West of Ireland. The river develops into three lakes along its course, Lough Allen
Lough Allen
Lough Allen is a lake situated on the River Shannon, in the north-central part of Ireland, near Ireland's border region. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller portion in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the river's source, near the Iron Mountains, and is the...
, Lough Ree
Lough Ree
Lough Ree is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Lough Derg to the south, there are also several minor lakes...
, and Lough Derg. Of these, Lough Derg is the largest. The River Shannon enters the Atlantic Ocean after Limerick city at the Shannon Estuary. Other major rivers include the River Liffey
River Liffey
The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...
, River Lee
River Lee (Ireland)
The Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, and empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the...
, River Blackwater
Munster Blackwater
The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction through County Cork, through Mallow and Fermoy...
, River Nore
River Nore
The River Nore is a long river located in south-east of Ireland. Along with the River Suir and River Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as the Three Sisters. The river drains approximately of Leinster. The river rises in the Devil's Bit Mountain, North Tipperary...
, River Suir
River Suir
The River Suir is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Waterford after a distance of .Popular with anglers, it holds plentiful reserves of brown trout...
, River Barrow
River Barrow
The Barrow is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest and most prominent of the three rivers...
, River Bann
River Bann
The River Bann is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles . The river winds its way from the south east corner of Northern Ireland to the north west coast, pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh...
, River Foyle
River Foyle
The River Foyle is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. From here it flows to the City of Derry, where it...
, River Erne
River Erne
The River Erne , in the northwest of Ireland, rises in Beaghy Lough, two miles south of Stradone in County Cavan and flows 64 miles through Lough Gowna, Lough Oughter and Upper and Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, to the sea at Ballyshannon, County Donegal...
, and River Boyne
River Boyne
The River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newbury Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea between Mornington, County Meath and Baltray, County Louth. Salmon...
. (See the list of rivers in Ireland.)
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
, in Ulster, is the largest lake in Ireland and the UK. Legend has it that a giant, Fionn mac Cumhail, was fighting with another in Scotland, and enraged, scooped out a lump of earth, which he threw. It fell into the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
, creating the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, while the hole filled up with water to become Lough Neagh. Other large lakes include Lough Erne
Lough Erne
Lough Erne, sometimes Loch Erne , is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne. The river begins by flowing north, and then curves west into the Atlantic. The southern lake is further up the river and so is named Upper...
and Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway river connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the second largest lough in Ireland . It covers 178 km² and lies mostly in County Galway with a small area of its northeast corner in County Mayo.The first canal in...
.
Inlets
Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
separates one side of the Inishowen peninsula. Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle , is the estuary of the River Foyle in Ulster. It starts where the Foyle leaves Derry. It separates the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.-Transport:...
on the other side, is one of Ireland's larger inlets, situated between County Donegal and County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
. Further round the coast is Belfast Lough
Belfast Lough
Belfast Lough is a large, natural intertidal sea lough at the mouth of the River Lagan on the east coast of Northern Ireland. The inner part of the lough comprises a series of mudflats and lagoons. The outer lough is restricted to mainly rocky shores with some small sandy bays...
, between County Antrim and County Down. Also in County Down is Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough, sometimes Strangford Loch, is a large sea loch or inlet in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula. The name Strangford is derived ; describing the fast-flowing narrows at its mouth...
, actually an inlet partially separating the Ards peninsula
Ards Peninsula
The Ards Peninsula is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland which separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea, on Ireland's northeast coast. A number of towns and villages are located on the peninsula, such as the seaside town of Donaghadee, with the surrounding area...
from the mainland. Further down the coast, Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet that forms part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down and on its southern shore is County Louth...
is situated between Down and County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...
is the next sizable inlet, while the eastern coast of Ireland is mostly uniform until Wexford Harbour
Wexford Harbour
Wexford Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland is the natural harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney. The estuary originally was about ten miles wide at its widest point, with large mud flats on both sides. These were known as the North Slob and the South Slob from the Irish word slab, meaning mud...
at the mouth of the River Slaney
River Slaney
The Slaney is a river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford, before entering St George's Channel in the Irish Sea at Wexford town...
. On the southern coast, Waterford Harbour
Waterford Harbour
Waterford Harbour is a natural harbour at the mouth of the Three Sisters; the River Nore, the River Suir and the River Barrow in Ireland. It is navigable for shipping to both Waterford and New Ross. The Port of Waterford is capable of accommodating vessels up to 32,000 tons dwt...
is situated at the mouth of the River Suir
River Suir
The River Suir is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Waterford after a distance of .Popular with anglers, it holds plentiful reserves of brown trout...
(into which the other two of the Three Sisters
The Three Sisters (Ireland)
The Three Sisters are three rivers in Ireland: the River Barrow, the River Nore and the River Suir. The Suir and Nore rise in the same mountainous area in County Tipperary, near the Devil's Bit, while the Barrow rises in the Slieve Blooms Mountains in County Laois. All three join the sea in the...
(River Nore
River Nore
The River Nore is a long river located in south-east of Ireland. Along with the River Suir and River Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as the Three Sisters. The river drains approximately of Leinster. The river rises in the Devil's Bit Mountain, North Tipperary...
and River Barrow
River Barrow
The Barrow is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest and most prominent of the three rivers...
) flow). The next major inlet is Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" . Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour...
, at the mouth of the River Lee, in which Great Island
Great Island
Great Island is the name of an island in Cork Harbour, just outside Cork city, at the mouth of the River Lee. The town of Cóbh is situated on the island, which is connected by bridge to Fota Island to the north, which in turn is connected by a causeway to the mainland...
is situated.
Dunmanus Bay
Dunmanus Bay
Dunmanus Bay is a bay in County Cork, Ireland. The bay lies between Mizen Head to the south and Bantry Bay to the north with the small village of Durrus at the head of the bay. The bay is out of the main tidal flow with no significant rivers flowing into it and is little frequented by vessels. On...
, Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
, Kenmare estuary and Dingle Bay
Dingle Bay
Dingle Bay is a bay located in County Kerry, western Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean and is approximately wide at the head, and wide at the entrance. It is flanked on the north by the Dingle Peninsula, and on the south by the Iveragh...
are all inlets between the peninsulas of County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. North of these is the Shannon estuary
Shannon Estuary
The Shannon Estuary is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to the south...
. Between north County Clare and County Galway is Galway Bay
Galway Bay
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...
. Clew Bay
Clew Bay
Clew Bay is a natural ocean bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It contains Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. According to tradition, there is an island in the bay for every day of the year. The bay is overlooked by Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy mountain, and the mountains of North Mayo. Clare...
is located on the coast of County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, south of Achill Island
Achill Island
Achill Island in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Gob an Choire and Poll Raithní . A bridge was first...
, while Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean situated on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching between Erris Head on the west side and Kid Island on the east side with approximately 8.6 km between the two sides.It borders...
, Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...
and Sruth Fada Conn bays are situated on the north west part of Connaught in North Mayo. Killala Bay
Killala Bay
Killala Bay is a bay on the west coast of Ireland between County Mayo and County Sligo. It is situated between Lenadoon Point and Downpatrick Head and is the estuary for the River Moy....
is on the north east coast of Mayo. Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay is an inlet in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean...
is a major inlet between County Donegal and County Sligo.
Headlands
Malin HeadMalin Head
Malin Head , on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, is usually given as the most northerly headland of the mainland of Ireland . In fact, the most northerly point is actually a headland named Banba's Crown on the Inishowen Peninsula about 2 km to the northeast...
is the most northerly point in Ireland, while Mizen Head
Mizen Head
Mizen Head , is located at the extremity of a peninsula in the district of Carbery in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of the extreme points of the island of Ireland and is a major tourist attraction, noted for its dramatic cliff scenery...
is one of the most southern points
Extreme points of Ireland
This is a list of the extreme points of Ireland – the points that are farthest north, south, east or west. It includes the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.Often the term "Malin to Mizen" is used when encompassing the entire island from north to south...
, hence the term "Malin head to Mizen head" (or the reverse) is used for anything applying to the island of Ireland as a whole. Carnsore Point
Carnsore Point
Carnsore Point is a headland in the very South East corner of County Wexford, Ireland. This headland is Ireland's southern limit point of the Irish Sea....
is another extreme point of Ireland
Extreme points of Ireland
This is a list of the extreme points of Ireland – the points that are farthest north, south, east or west. It includes the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.Often the term "Malin to Mizen" is used when encompassing the entire island from north to south...
, being the southeastern most point of Ireland. Further along the coast is Hook Head
Hook Head
Hook Head is a headland in County Wexford, Ireland located on the east side of the estuary of the three sisters rivers . It is part of the Hook peninsula and is adjacent to the historic townland of Loftus Hall...
while the Old Head of Kinsale
Old Head of Kinsale
The Old Head of Kinsale, is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th century by Robert Reading...
in is one of many headlands along the south coast of Ireland.
Loop Head
Loop Head
Loop Head , is a headland on the north side of the mouth of the River Shannon, in County Clare in the west of Ireland.Loop Head is marked by a prominent lighthouse. The opposite headland on the south side of the Shannon is Kerry Head...
is the headland at which County Clare comes to a point on the west coast of Ireland, with the Atlantic on the north, and further inland on the south, the Shannon estuary. Hag's Head
Hag's Head
The Hags Head is the name given to the most southerly point of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland where cliffs form an unusual rock formation that resembles a woman's head looking out to sea....
is another headland further up Clare's north/western coastline, with the Cliffs of Moher
Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of the Burren area near Doolin, which is located in County Clare, Ireland....
along the coastline north of the point.
Erris Head
Erris Head
Erris Head is a promontory at the northernmost tip of the Mullet Peninsula, located in the barony of Erris in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is a well known and recognised landmark used by mariners and weather forecasters alike. It is also a very scenic viewpoint, with an unspoilt view of the...
is the northwesternmost point of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
.
Islands and peninsulas
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
, off the coast of southern Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, host to an Irish-speaking community, or Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
. Valentia Island
Valentia Island
Valentia Island is one of Ireland's westernmost points, lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial bridge at Portmagee, as well as by a ferry which sails from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's...
off the Iveragh peninsula
Iveragh Peninsula
The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula...
is also one of Ireland's larger islands, and is relatively settled, as well as being connected by a bridge at its southeastern end. Omey Island
Omey Island
Omey Island is a tidal island situated near Claddaghduff on the western edge of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. From the mainland the island is inconspicuous and almost hidden. It is possible to drive or walk across a large sandy strand to the island by following the arrowed signs...
, off the coast of Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
is a tidal island
Tidal island
A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont Saint Michel with its...
.
Some of the best-known peninsulas in Ireland are in County Kerry; the Dingle peninsula
Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the major peninsulae in County Kerry. Its ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland.-Name:...
, the aforementioned Iveragh peninsula and the Beara peninsula
Beara Peninsula
The Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It has two mountain ranges running down its centre: the Caha Mountains and the Slieve Miskish Mountains...
. The Ards peninsula
Ards Peninsula
The Ards Peninsula is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland which separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea, on Ireland's northeast coast. A number of towns and villages are located on the peninsula, such as the seaside town of Donaghadee, with the surrounding area...
is one of the larger peninsulas outside Kerry. The Inishowen
Inishowen
Inishowen is a peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. It is also the largest peninsula in all of Ireland. Inishowen is a picturesque location with a rich history...
peninsula in County Donegal includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head and several important towns including Buncrana on Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
, Carndonagh
Carndonagh
Carndonagh is a town on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland and is home to the Irish Space Exploration Mission. The town is located near Malin Head, the most northerly point of Ireland and lies close to the shores of Trawbeaga Bay...
and Moville
Moville
Moville is a town and coastal resort on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, close to the northern tip of Ireland.-Location:...
on Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle , is the estuary of the River Foyle in Ulster. It starts where the Foyle leaves Derry. It separates the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.-Transport:...
. Ireland's most northerly land feature is Inishtrahull island, off Malin Head. Rockall
Rockall
Rockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....
Island may deserve this honour but its status is disputed, being claimed by the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(for the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
) and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. The most southerly point is the Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...
.
Climate
Ireland's climate is temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
, though significantly warmer than almost all other locations at similar latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
, such as Poland (on mainland Europe) or Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
(on the opposite edge of the Atlantic), due to the warming influence of the North Atlantic drift
North Atlantic Drift
North Atlantic Drift is:* An ocean current that continues from the North Atlantic Current* An album by Ocean Colour Scene: North Atlantic Drift this doesn't make any goddamn sense....
. The prevailing wind blows from the southwest, breaking on the high mountains of the west coast. Rainfall is therefore a particularly prominent part of western Irish life, with Valentia Island
Valentia Island
Valentia Island is one of Ireland's westernmost points, lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial bridge at Portmagee, as well as by a ferry which sails from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's...
, off the west coast of County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, getting almost twice as much annual rainfall as Dublin on the east (1400 mm (55.1 in) vs. 762 mm (30 in)). Across the country, about 60% of the annual rainfall occurs between August and January.
January and February are the coldest months of the year, and mean daily air temperatures fall between 4 and 7 °C (39.2 and 44.6 F) during these months. July and August are the warmest, with mean daily temperatures of 14 to 16 °C (57.2 to 60.8 F), whilst mean daily maximums in July and August vary from 17 to 18 °C (62.6 to 64.4 F) near the coast, to 19 to 20 °C (66.2 to 68 F) inland. The sunniest months are May and June, with an average of five to seven hours sunshine per day. Though extreme weather events in Ireland are comparatively rare when compared with other countries in the European Continent, they do occur. Explosive Atlantic depressions, occurring mainly in the months of December, January and February, can occasionally bring winds of up to 160 km/h (99 mph) to Western coastal counties; while the summer months, and particularly around late July/early August, sudden and violent thunderstorms can develop, more especially, but not exclusively, across midland and western areas of the country.
The table shows mean climate figures for the Dublin Airport weather station over a thirty-year period. Climate statistics based on the counties of Northern Ireland vary slightly but are not significantly different.
| Dublin Airport Dublin Airport Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon... weather station statistics from 1961 to 1990 |
|||||||||||||
| Factor | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily max temp (°C) | 7.6 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 11.4 | 14.2 | 17.2 | 18.9 | 18.6 | 16.6 | 13.7 | 9.8 | 8.4 | 12.8 |
| Mean daily min temp (°C) | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 6.8 | 9.6 | 11.4 | 11.1 | 9.6 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 6.0 |
| Mean daily sunshine (h) | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 3.9 |
| Mean monthly rain (mm) | 69.4 | 50.4 | 53.8 | 50.7 | 55.1 | 56.0 | 49.9 | 70.5 | 66.7 | 69.7 | 64.7 | 75.6 | 732.7 |
Political and human geography
Ireland is divided into four provincesProvinces of Ireland
Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...
, Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
and Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
, and 32 counties
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...
. Six of the nine Ulster counties form Northern Ireland and the other 26 form the state, Ireland. The map shows the county boundaries for all 32 counties.
 |
(republic of) Ireland
|
Northern Ireland
|
From an administrative viewpoint, 20 of the counties in the republic are units of local government. The other six have more than one local authority area, producing a total of 34 county-level authorities. Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
has two ridings, North Tipperary
North Tipperary
North Tipperary is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-West Region and is also located in the province of Munster. It is named after the town of Tipperary and consists of 48% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. The county was established in 1898 and has had a county...
and South Tipperary
South Tipperary
South Tipperary is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Munster. It is named after the town of Tipperary and consists of 52% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. The county was established in 1898 and has had a county...
, originally established in 1838 and renamed in 2001. The cities of Dublin, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
and Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
have city councils and are administered separately from the counties bearing those names. The remaining part of County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
is split into Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. Located to the south-east of Dublin city, its county seat is the town of Dún Laoghaire. It is one of the four constituent parts of the Dublin Region...
, Fingal, and South Dublin
South Dublin
South Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. The county seat is Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin and the biggest urban centre in the county. Other important centres of population are Lucan and Clondalkin...
.
Electoral areas in Ireland (the state), called constituencies in accordance with Irish law
Law of the Republic of Ireland
The law of the Republic of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute and common law. The highest law in the Republic is the Constitution of Ireland, from which all other law derives its authority...
, mostly follow county boundaries. Maintaining links to the county system is a mandatory consideration in the re-organisation of constituency boundaries.
In Northern Ireland, a major re-organisation of local government in 1973 replaced the six traditional counties and two county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
s (Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
) by 26 single-tier districts
Districts of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing...
, which, apart from Fermanagh cross the traditional county boundaries. The six counties and two county-boroughs remain in use for purposes such as Lieutenancy. In November 2005, proposals were announced which would see the number of local authorities reduced to seven.
The island's total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of approximately 6 million people is concentrated on the east coast, particularly in Dublin and Belfast and their surrounding areas.
Bogs
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
land, consisting of two distinct types, blanket bogs and raised bogs. Blanket bogs are the more widespread of the two types. They are essentially a product of human activity aided by the moist Irish climate. Blanket bogs formed on sites where Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
farmers cleared trees for farming. As the land so cleared fell into disuse, the soil began to leach and become more acidic, producing a suitable environment for the growth of heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
and rushes
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
. The debris from these plants accumulated and a layer of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
formed. One of the largest expanses of Atlantic blanket bog in Ireland is to be found in Erris
Erris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
.
Raised bogs are most common in the Shannon basin. They formed when depressions left behind after the ice age filled with water to form lakes. Debris from reeds in these lakes formed a layer at the bottom of the water. This eventually choked the lakes and raised above the surface, forming raised bogs.
Since the 17th century, peat has been cut for fuel for domestic heating and cooking and it is called turf when so used. The process accelerated as commercial exploitation of bogs grew. In the 1940s, machines for cutting turf were introduced and larger-scale exploitation became possible. In the Republic, this became the responsibility of a semi-state company called Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna
Bord na Móna , abbreviated BNM, is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of peat, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland...
. In addition to domestic uses, commercially extracted turf is used in a number of industries, especially electricity generation.
In recent years, the high level of bog being destroyed by cutting has raised environmental concerns. The problem is particularly acute for raised bogs as they yield a higher-grade fuel than blanket bogs. Plans are now in place in both the Republic and Northern Ireland to conserve most of the remaining raised bogs on the island.
Oil, natural gas and minerals
Offshore exploration for natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
began in 1970. The first major discovery was the Kinsale Head gas field
Kinsale Head gas field
The Kinsale Head gas field is an offshore natural gas field off the southern coast of Ireland discovered in 1973 near Old Head of Kinsale, in the Celtic Sea and met Ireland's gas need until 1996...
in 1971. Next was the smaller Ballycotton gas field in 1989, and the Corrib gas field in 1996. Exploitation of the Corrib project has yet to get off the ground because the controversial proposal
Corrib gas controversy
The Corrib gas controversy concerns plans by Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil Exploration Limited, Vermilion Energy Trust and the Irish government for processing the Corrib gas field through Broadhaven Bay and Sruth Fada Conn Bay in Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, and objections raised against...
to refine the gas onshore, rather than at sea has been met with widespread opposition
Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea is a campaign based in Cill Chomáin parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland which opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline through the parish and the ongoing construction by Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Vermilion Energy Trust of a refinery at Bellanaboy intended to...
. Gas from these fields is pumped ashore and used for both domestic and industrial purposes. The Helvick oil field, estimated to contain over 28 Moilbbl of oil, is another recent discovery. Ireland is the largest European producer of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
with three operating zinc-lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s at Navan
Navan
-People:Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in the television series Remington Steele and was the fifth film actor to play James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan....
, Galmoy
Galmoy
Galmoy is a village in the barony of Galmoy, County Kilkenny in the southeastern part of the midlands of Ireland.-See also:*List of towns and villages in Ireland*Galmoy Mine...
and Lisheen
Lisheen
Lisheen is a townland in Ballynacally, County Clare. It is the home of the Maher family, among others....
. Other mineral deposits with actual or potential commercial value include gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
, talc
Talc
Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...
, calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, roofing slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
aggregate, building stone, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
and gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
.
In May 2007 the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (now replaced by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources) reported that there may be volumes over 130 Goilbbl of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and 50 Tcuft of natural gas in Irish waters - worth trillions of Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, if true. The minimum 'guaranteed' amount of oil in the Irish Atlantic waters is 10 Goilbbl, worth over €450 billion. There are also areas of petroleum and natural gas on shore, for example the Lough Allen
Lough Allen
Lough Allen is a lake situated on the River Shannon, in the north-central part of Ireland, near Ireland's border region. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller portion in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the river's source, near the Iron Mountains, and is the...
basin, with 9.4 Tcuft of gas and 1.5 Goilbbl of oil, valued at €74.4 billion. Already some fields are being exploited, such as the Spanish Point
Spanish Point
Spanish Point is a village in the parish of Miltown Malbay in County Clare, Ireland, situated on the west coast of Ireland. The town is home to many holiday homes, and during the winter has a significantly smaller population. It is also one of the better surf breaks in County Clare...
field, with 1.25 Tcuft of gas and 206 Moilbbl of oil, valued at €19.6 billion. The Corrib Basin is also quite large, worth anything up to €87 billion, while the Dunquin gas field contains 25 Tcuft of natural gas and 4.13 Goilbbl of petroleum.
See also
- Extreme points of IrelandExtreme points of IrelandThis is a list of the extreme points of Ireland – the points that are farthest north, south, east or west. It includes the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.Often the term "Malin to Mizen" is used when encompassing the entire island from north to south...
- Gravity Anomalies of Britain and IrelandGravity anomalies of Britain and IrelandVariations in the strength of gravity occur from place to place according to the density distribution of the rocks beneath the surface. Such gravity anomalies have been mapped across the British Isles and the surrounding seas and they reveal aspects of these islands’ geological structure.-Negative...
- Coastal landforms of IrelandCoastal landforms of IrelandIreland is an island surrounded by water, with a 7,500 kilometre coastline. This list catalogues about 400 of the coastal landforms of the island including bays, estuaries, harbours, headlands, and many others...
- Geographical centre of IrelandGeographical centre of IrelandThe geographical centre of Ireland is where the 8° Meridian West meets the 53°30' North Latitude in the townland of Carnagh East, County Roscommon on the western shore of Lough Ree, opposite the Cribby Islands and 8.85 kilometres NNW of Athlone Town....
- Mitchell, Frank and Ryan, Michael. Reading the Irish landscape (1998). ISBN 1-86059-055-1
- Whittow, J. B. Geography and Scenery in Ireland (Penguin Books 1974)
- Place-names, Diarmuid O Murchadha and Kevin Murray, in The Heritage of Ireland, ed. N. Buttimer et al., The Collins Press, Cork, 2000, pp. 146–155.
- A paper landscape:the Ordanance Survey in nineteenth-century Ireland, J.H. Andrews, London, 1975
- Monasticon Hibernicum, M. Archdall, 1786
- Etymological aetiology in Irish tradition, R. Baumgarten, Eiru 41, pp. 115–122, 1990
- The Origin and History of Irish names of Places, Patrick Weston JoycePatrick Weston JoycePatrick Weston Joyce was an Irish historian, writer and music collector, known particularly for his research in local place names of Ireland.-Biography:...
, three volumes, Dublin, 1869, 1875, 1913. - Irish Place Names, D. Flanagan and L. Flanagan, Dublin, 1994
- Census of Ireland:general alphabetical index to the townlands and towns, parishes and paronies of Ireland, Dublin, 1861
- The Placenames of Westmeath, Paul Walsh, 1957
- The Placenames of Decies, P. Power, Cork, 1952
- The place-names of county Wicklow, Liam PriceLiam PriceLiam Price was a County Wicklow judge, historian and former president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland who published work on historical topography and the history of placenames, especially for the county of Wicklow, where he was a district justice...
, seven volumes, Dublin, 1945–67
Online
- Abbot, Patrick. Ireland's Peat Bogs. Retrieved on 23 January 2008.
- Irish Department of Foreign Affairs: Facts about Ireland
- Ireland – The World FactbookThe World FactbookThe World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official paper copy version is available from the National Technical Information Service and the Government Printing Office...
. Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. Retrieved on 23 January 2008. - OnlineWeather.com – climate details for Ireland. Retrieved 2011-01-12
External links
- Ireland Geography Guide
- OSI FAQ – Lists of the longest, highest and other statistics
- A discussion on RTÉ Radio One'sRTÉ Radio 1RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
science show Quantum Leap about the quality of GPS mapping in Ireland is available here. The discussion starts 8mins 17sec into the show. It was aired on 18 Jan 2007 Requires Real player.
Maps from