Abstract
Active or recently active volcanic areas present very visible and easy to understand phenomena for the broad population to appreciate as geological heritage. However, in a geologically stable country such as Ireland, with no volcanism evident for tens of millions of years and few clearly visible traces of volcanoes of a ‘school textbook’ nature, the significance of ancient volcanic remains is much harder to explain or to present to visitors to geological heritage sites. This paper explores the wide range of evidence of ancient volcanic activity within recognised geological heritage sites across Ireland, both in County Geological Sites and in the UNESCO Global Geoparks. Some of the stories that can be told using the available evidence are documented, including some of the current efforts to present Ireland’s volcanic geological heritage. The stories are told within the context of the geological and volcanic history of Ireland over the past 500 million years. As such, the promotion of geological heritage is at an early stage, and this contribution may provide inspiration or ideas for approaches to this problem for other countries or terrains with similar ancient volcanic rocks.
Highlights
In County Wicklow, south of Dublin (Ireland’s capital city), is a well-known landmark hill called the Sugarloaf, which is a popular amenity spot for family walks at weekends and holidays
The Earth Science content of the school curriculum has improved slightly in very recent years, there is still a very low level of public awareness of Geology as a science in its own right, or as a foundation component to many other sciences. It is from this very low base that this contribution is framed, exploring how ancient volcanic rocks and phenomena are presented to the general public across a wide range of geological heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks
Mourne Gullion Strangford Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark [48] has applied for this status, based on the igneous geology and volcanic geoheritage of the Northern Ireland part of the story
Summary
In County Wicklow, south of Dublin (Ireland’s capital city), is a well-known landmark hill called the Sugarloaf, which is a popular amenity spot for family walks at weekends and holidays. The Earth Science content of the school curriculum has improved slightly in very recent years, there is still a very low level of public awareness of Geology as a science in its own right, or as a foundation component to many other sciences It is from this very low base that this contribution is framed, exploring how ancient volcanic rocks and phenomena are presented to the general public across a wide range of geological heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks. Apart from the Giant’s Causeway, there are few sites that present obvious volcanic features in the way that a visitor to Mount Teide in Tenerife, Mount Etna in Italy or many other popular holiday destinations with active or recently active volcanoes can experience This contribution describes how volcanic geoheritage is being presented and explained in some sites in Ireland (ROI), and how it may be ‘sold’ to the public in other, less obvious places, were there resources available to do so. The deposition of sediments in the shallow tropical seas of the Carboniferous period was interrupted by Geosciences 2021, 11, 52
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