Geology Courses

Geology Courses A 5 night introductory evening course designed for those who have an interest in the Burren. No geology experience is required, and better yet, there are no exams!

Stone Water & Ice – A Landscape Shaped by Time,  Evening Course

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark and the Burren Outdoor Education Training Centre at Turlough, Bell Harbour, run an annual six night evening course on the geology and landscape of the Burren. This insightful course is designed for those with little or no experience of geology. It is ideal for walkers, hikers, guides, business people or anybody with an interest in understanding the landscape of the Burren.

The course consists of five x 2 hour evening classes given jointly by Colin Bunce (Burrren Outdoor Education Centre tutor) and Eamon Doyle (geologist for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark) with the fifth class given by a guest lecturer. In the past we were delighted to have had Dr. David Drew (ex Trinity College Dublin), Tiernan Henry (Earth and Ocean Science dept. NUI Galway) and Prof. John Walsh (Fault Analysis Group University College Dublin) give entertaining and informative insights on their particular fields of expertise in the Burren as guest lecturers.

The course is thorough yet informal with plenty of scope for questions and discussions. It is capped off with a fieldtrip where we get an opportunity to look at the rocks first hand.

Topics covered in the course include: Geological Time, Rock Types, Plate Tectonics, Past Environments of the Burren, Folding, Erosion, Surface Features and Processes, Cave formation, Fossils and the influence of water.

The course is delivered by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark and the Burren Outdoor education Centre.

Course outline:

  • Introduction to geology
  • Geology of Ireland
  • Geology of the Burren
  • Burren Landscapes
  • Burren Fieldtrip
  • Guest Lecture

Location

Classes are held at the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, Turlough, Bell Harbour, Co. Clare
GPS N 53 06.035 W 9 04.161