Geological Survey Ireland welcomes new UNESCO Global Geopark in Mayo and Galway

Joyce Country & Western Lakes Geopark – located in the south Mayo and north Galway region of Connemara – has been granted UNESCO Global Geopark status following a decision on their application taken at the 10th UNESCO Geoparks Council meeting in Temuco, Chile, on September 5 last. This decision will be ratified at the UNESCO executive board meeting in Paris early next year.

The new geopark will bring the number of UNESCO geoparks on the island of Ireland to five.

Initially a purely voluntary local effort to increase tourism in the area based on the important geology, landscape, and related traditions and culture, started in the early 2000s, the project to develop a full UNESCO Global Geopark was enhanced in 2019 with the successful application for €1.19 million from the Rural and Regional Development Funds (RRFD) from the then Department of Rural and Community Development, and the increased collaboration with Údarás na Gaeltachta, Geological Survey Ireland, Galway County Council and Mayo County Council, plus the employment of project officers and structured support from the local communities.

The geopark opens a window on geology, heritage and culture – ancient and current and everything in between – for locals and visitors alike. It was awarded its status based on its 700-million-year geological history, and it being an ideal cross-section of the Grampian-Taconic orogeny (the mountain-building event over 400 million years ago at the closing of the Iapetus Ocean and the formation of the Caledonian and Appalachian mountains) for the teaching and research of this globally significant event.

Welcoming the announcement, Koen Verbruggen, director of Geological Survey Ireland, commented: “Geological Survey Ireland has been working alongside the local team developing the Joyce Country & Western Lakes Geopark for many years, but in particular since 2019 with grant funding from the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund in the Department of Rural and Community Development (part of Project Ireland 2040).

“Geological Survey Ireland in particular supports the promotion of the understanding and appreciation of the geology of the area as the cornerstone of the geopark and its activities.

“I would like to congratulate the geopark team and all of the key partners, and in particular the people of the Joyce Country and Western Lakes area of Galway and Mayo for reaching this important milestone.”