19th Century

Irish Fossils

Mysterious fossils found at Bray Head in 1844 were the oldest in the world at the time. They are Oldhamia: small, trace fossils around 550 million years old. Some resemble fans and others fronds. They are now found around the world, and were probably made by small burrowing animals. The oldest fossil plants in the world were found in the Slieve Bloom mountains in the 1980s. These Cooksonia fossils (pictured above) are about 460 million years old, and date from the time when primitive plants were starting to colonise dry land. Fossils of the extinct giant deer, sometimes called the great Irish elk are frequently found in Ireland, though it is also found across Europe to Siberia. Important examples of early amphibians and fish were found in 1867 in coal deposits at Jarrow in Co Kilkenny.

Image: Courtesy of John Feehan

Irish Fossils
Image: Courtesy of John Feehan

Irish Fossils

Mysterious fossils found at Bray Head in 1844 were the oldest in the world at the time. They are Oldhamia: small, trace fossils around 550 million years old. Some resemble fans and others fronds. They are now found around the world, and were probably made by small burrowing animals. The oldest fossil plants in the world were found in the Slieve Bloom mountains in the 1980s. These Cooksonia fossils (pictured above) are about 460 million years old, and date from the time when primitive plants were starting to colonise dry land. Fossils of the extinct giant deer, sometimes called the great Irish elk are frequently found in Ireland, though it is also found across Europe to Siberia. Important examples of early amphibians and fish were found in 1867 in coal deposits at Jarrow in Co Kilkenny.

Image: Courtesy of John Feehan

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Earth sciences really took off in the 19th century, internationally and in Ireland, with the rise of the professional college-educated scientist. Interest focused on resources both above and below ground. This meant surveying and mapping the surface detail and the geological formations.

Maps of Ireland had been produced over the centuries, but the first comprehensive and detailed maps were made by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland (OSI), which began in the 1820s and produced its first maps in the 1840s. The OSI continues to map Ireland, though satellite and aerial imagery increasingly replace surveyors walking the land.

Meanwhile, the science of geology was taking shape as people became aware of the vast timescales involved, saw how various rock strata fitted together, learned how rock types formed, and uncovered fossils of extinct creatures. Mining companies also needed to know where to dig.

And so the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) was established in 1845 to identify and map Ireland's rocks and minerals. Since then, the survey has played an important role in identifying new commercial resources.

Today, it employs over 50 geologists, including experts in bedrock, groundwater, land-use and soils, minerals and offshore deposits. They continue to collect information about Ireland's geology, produce detailed maps and even popular guides to places of geological interest, and provide expert advice to local authorities and private companies on everything from rehabilitating mine wastes to groundwater reserves, and even analysing the structure and composition of Ireland's seabed.

Geologists also work at the many mineral and prospecting companies based here, and most Irish universities have an earth sciences department.

Geophysicists at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies continue the seismology research begun by Robert Mallet, with a network of sensors around the country monitoring seismic events.