In 2023 the Irish Heritage School was commissioned by the Heritage Office (Deirdre Black, DLRCC Heritage Officer) of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to develop a project aimed at bringing the stories of the fascinating and complex geological history of the county to life for the local community and visitors.

The aim was achieved through a series of lectures, workshops and field trips, and culminated in the production of two booklets describing geological (and historical) features of our beautiful coastline.

Killiney Beach

Killiney Beach is a great place to explore not just the local geology, but the geology of the east coast. The reason this can be done is because the local geology is quite complex, coupled with the fact the Irish sea glacier scoured the coast in the last ice age, dragging crushed rocks up from the southeast coast as far as Wexford, and down from the northeast coast to Antrim and even Scotland.

Blackrock Park

The park was developed after the building of the coastal railroad, which changed the coastline through the resulting silting up of the area. Underneath the park is where the really interesting geology is – the contact between the Leinster Granite (to the south) and the Carboniferous Limestones (to the north). The clues are all around, if you know where to look and what to look for!

Guides

• The Geology of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown – Killiney Beach – The Stories in the Stones
• The Geology of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown – Blackrock Park – The Stories in the Walls