Day 5 - Co. Waterford

An exposed coral reef at Ardmore Bay

On Day 5 of my tour of southern Ireland, I had no County Geological Sites to survey and my only objective was to reach Co. Kilkenny and, being on a working holiday, I just let the day unfold at a leisurely pace.

St. Declan's cathedral in Ardmore

Working my way around the estuary of the River Blackwater, after leaving Youghal, I decided to go and have a look at Ardmore. 

The ruins of St. Declan’s cathedral date back to the 9^th century A.D. Built of Old Red Sandstone, most of the masonry comprises coursed rubble walling but there are also some fine examples of relief sculpture. I didn’t take a close look at Ardmore round tower, but these monuments give Ireland’s architectural heritage its unique character.

Moving on to Ardmore Bay, the tide was out and I had the opportunity to have a walk around the sea shore. Here, the sandstone cliffs give way to glacial till, which forms a low lying coastline, but some interesting rocks project from the sandy beach.

Devonian, Quaternary and recent sediments at Ardmore Bay

I had seen enough of the Old Red Sandstone, to appreciate its wide variety of colours, textures and physical composition but, here, one of the fundamental principles of geology came to mind – The Present is the Key to the Past. 

Sand ripples at Ardmore Bay

Rocky outcrops of sandstone, more than 350 million years old and containing quartzite pebbles, lie alongside similar unconsolidated sediments that have been washed up against them by the flow of the last tide; however, what interested me most were not the rocks but the various organisms that were growing on them – especially the coral reefs. 

I had seen plenty of ancient corals preserved in the Carboniferous limestone but, having never been close to a living reef before, this remains the most memorable aspect of the natural history that I saw in Ireland.

Building stones in Dungarvan

With time moving on, I headed off to Co. Kilkenny – briefly stopping at Dungarvan, to look at the bridge and the castle walls, and the Comeragh Mountains, where the Old Red Sandstone has been deeply scoured by ice to leave spectacular corries and waterfalls.

The Comeragh Mountains

Building Stones in Youghal

Liscannor stone paving

Having inspected the old Cork Red marble quarries at Midleton, the next site on my list of building stone quarries to survey was in the town of Kilkenny – a drive of 120 km – and the only reason for stopping in Youghal was that the light was fading and I needed to find a place to eat and sleep.

The Clock Gate Tower

Before setting off the next day, I took a few photographs of a couple of buildings that had caught my eye, on the previous evening.

The Clock Gate Tower is quite stunning and I was particularly interested in the contrasting building stones that have been used in its construction; reflecting the local geology and the relative structural integrity of these rocks, Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous limestone are used for the walls and dressings respectively.

An unknown classical building behind it, near to where I was parked, also uses the same combination of materials, and this gives the architecture a locally distinctive character. 

Sandstone and Limestone

In England, the Carboniferous sandstones have been exploited for their durability as a building stone and they have also been extensively used to pave cities and towns all over the country.

Devonian Old Red Sandstone

Unless you are working as a town planner, architect or a contractor in a conservation area with listed buildings, where the paving gives great character to the place, it is very unlikely that you will ever pay much attention to this – except, perhaps, when wearing stiletto heels.

In Ireland, the Liscannor stone is unmissable, not least for the preservation of the burrows made by ancient organisms.

Quarried from the Upper Carboniferous rocks in Co. Clare, very near to the Cliffs of Moher, I don’t quite know how to classify this stone - like the Devonian Caithness Flagstone, which is very fine grained and so hard and dense that it reminds me of slate, although obviously a sedimentary rock.

Having once surveyed and photographed the old riven stone flooring in the Leather Bottle public house - mentioned in The Pickwick Papers - before it was replaced, I know that old, worn out paving stones are a real hazard to walk on. Modern Health & Safety policy in England would no doubt have something to say about the use of Liscannor stone for any kind of paving but, in Ireland, it is just part of character of the country...

Liscannor Stone

From Kinsale to Youghal

Barryscourt Castle

3 days after leaving Dublin, I was ready for a break and my Saturday night stay in Kinsale.

Charles Fort

A jazz festival is held here in the last week of October and there was a great atmosphere in this holiday resort. Although I didn’t go out to explore the town or the harbour, it is a good base from which to explore the geology of the south-west of Ireland.

Having eaten, drank and slept well, a leisurely Day 4 started at Charles Fort, strategically placed on the cliffs overlooking the mouth of the River Bandon. Built in the 1660s, this star fort uses the Carboniferous limestone that outcrops along much of the coastline of Co. Cork and, here, the masonry is very plain.

With a dark sky threatening heavy rain, I didn’t stay around to fully explore this historic monument and headed inland, bypassing the city of Cork and very briefly stopping to photograph Barryscourt Castle. My principal objective for the day was to inspect some of the former quarries of the famous Cork Red marble.

Although not a true marble in the metamorphic sense, this very distinctive conglomeratic Carboniferous limestone takes a good polish and was used extensively in the 19^th century for the interiors of churches and municipal buildings. Like so many other unique building and decorative stones that were once very popular in the Victorian period, the original quarries have now closed.

A Cork Red Marble quarry

Having worked as a stone matching specialist in the building restoration industry, I know the many problems that can be faced when complying with a conservation architect’s specification, which directs that “all materials used shall match the existing”.

Mud stained Carboniferous limestone

With so many old building stone quarries being infilled or – especially in urban areas - redeveloped for housing or commercial use, geological conservation principles advocate that it is essential to preserve these sites wherever possible.

It's not unknown for conscientious government organisations, businesses or individuals to bring these back to life and to give local employment opportunities, and a sense of self worth and pride, once again. 

Various Irish marbles