Join us & @rockwatch.bsky.social on 13-14 June at Lyme Regis Fossil Festival for a weekend full of family-friendly fossil-related fun. Look out for our stand in the Lister Gardens Marquee. Plus, Ben Cunningham, one of our Student Representatives, will be giving a free talk at the Driftwood Cafe.

#WorldOceansDay. ‘No daughter of mine will leave home except as a married woman’. Born on Valentia Island, self-taught marine biologist Maud Delap was the first person to successfully breed jellyfish in captivity. Our colleague Angela Byrne has put together a short reel about her life.

The Basking Shark at the National Museum of Ireland - Natural History has for well over a century been hanging from the ceiling of the Dead Zoo (as Dubliners fondly call the museum) but has been moved, which is a challenge to say the least #sharks #museums #SpeirGorm www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collec...

Vic O’Sullivan (The Guardian) writes a lyrical piece on Joyce Country and Western Lakes Unesco Geopark that runs from the L. Corrib / Mask lowlands to Killary Fjord @wildatlanticway.bsky.social. It describes several features of this, up to now, largely hidden landscape on the Galway/Mayo border

Is time running out for sand? That was the question BGS geoscientist Tom Bide addressed in an article for Building Engineer magazine. Tom shares how sand overconsumption is destabilising ecosystems and makes a call for more robust sand extraction policy. www.buildingengineer.org.uk/intelligence...

In today's edition of our Monument Monday newsletter, we set off on a prehistoric pilgrimage to Donegal where we encounter the spectacular Beltany Stone Circle. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Archaeology #Prehistory #Donegal

Beautiful illustrations

Congratulations to #JoyceCountry and #WesternLakes #Geopark on achieving #UNESCO Global Geopark status. A fabulous natural region shretching from L. Corrib/Mask lowlands to @wildatlanticway.bsky.social at Killary Harbour joycecountrygeoparkproject.ie/en/our-herit... @geolsurvie.bsky.social

#Cáisc shona daoibh uile! Happy #Easter! Sunset last evening in the Kilkishen drumlin countryside, east Co #Clare; #StormDave had passed leaving +/- no havoc in its wake

Good Friday is the day when Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary. The scene is a common theme in religious art. This short thread has a few examples of how the crucifixion has been depicted in Irish art through the centuries. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #GoodFriday #Medieval

Yet another paper on the Burren, a favourite of mine in all seasons. Congratulations to all involved.

The Isle of Mull is the large stepping stone between Oban (W. Scotland) and Iona, the latter forever associated with St Colmcille (Columba). The video is well worth viewing

Kilmacduagh • Galway The sprawling monastery of Kilmacduagh is believed to have been founded by St Colmán in the 6-7th century, and grew to become one of the most important ecclesiastical centres in the region. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Galway #Medieval #Archaeology 🏺

Updated geological assessment of the Southern North Sea set to underpin future offshore infrastructure development 🗺️ The first update for 30 years, the data will support various offshore projects, inc the 2030 target of 45 to 50 GW generated through offshore wind. www.bgs.ac.uk/news/new-geo...

Macgillycuddy's Reeks incl. Carrantoohil from the Beara peninsula & c. an hour later from Moll's Gap. Sprinkling of snow on the peaks of #Kerry / #Killarney while sunny & warm on the lowlands. Little tourist traffic; lovely to have the Kingdom to myself for the day

Arts & Science meet at www.galwayartscentre.ie/whats-on/cur... in #GalwayArtsCentre. Fine exhibits on display lent by #IMMA, @geolsurvie.bsky.social, & #HeritageCollections & #MitchellMuseum @uniofgalway.bsky.social. Iconic names (#geologists) incl. GH Kinahan, GF Mitchell, C MacDermot, T Robinson

#FossilFriday February 26, 1779, birthday of German-British naturalist Johann Samuel Müller, also known as John Samuel Miller. In 1801 he emigrated to the U.K., becoming an accountant in Bristol. There he started collecting fossils, self-publishing a monumental work on sea lilies (crinoids) ...

#GGA (Galway Geological Association) Zoom lecture: Advances on geochemical data collection - Tellus programme, on Tuesday, 10 Feb, 2026 at 7 pm. Speaker: Victoria Kavanagh (on behalf of Tellus, GSI). Map kindly provided by VK @geolsurvie.bsky.social For link email: [email protected]

February 1836: newspapers across the country report that #MaryAnning, defrauded of her savings, had been awarded £300 from the government after her friends at the Geological Society lobbied the Prime Minister. With a further £200 they had collected in Dublin in 1835, this gave her an annuity of £25.

Pleased to do honours at launch of ‘Booleying in Ireland’ by Theresa McDonald. Anything you will ever wish to know re. #booleying #transhumance in Achill & beyond is here. Fruits of years of interdisciplinary research @universityofgalway.bsky.social @globalgalway.bsky.social @nmireland.bsky.social

Great looking forward to #GGA lecture by Bernd Zolischka on Thursday 7pm. The Eifel volcanic field is spectacular; easily reached but also easily missed (nr Andernach on Rhine). Ash (#tephra) deposits from Laachersee eruption ca. 12900 y ago spread far & wide; local deposits an impressive sight

#GGA Z Lecture, Thursday, 22 January at 19.00 h ‘The Eifel volcanic field, Germany: type-location of "maars”, archives of exceptional palaeo records’ BY Prof. Dr. Bernd Zolitschka, Institute of Geography, @unibremen.bsky.social. For link email: [email protected]. @quaternaryirl.bsky.social

Happy New Year! At midnight on Hogmanay, the Watch Stone will move from its position guarding the approach to the Ness of Brodgar to take a drink from Stenness loch. (Or so it is said!) Wishing you all a wonderful 2026, filled with folklore, fun and many a hike to an ancient site 💚🪨🎉

It’s been so great to see the Tuatha community grow over the past year! Here's a short thread of some of what we've been up to: This year has seen the production of twelve brand new itineraries, helping you to explore landscapes like the Ards Peninsula, Galway, the Fermanagh Lakelands, and more.

It is indeed a fascinating account. Well worth a close read

Aithbhliain for shéan is fé mhaise daoibh uile. Happy New Year Earlier today in Loughshinny, nr. Skerries, Co. Dublin

The vibrant magnificence of #Earth: 22 breathtaking images from the 2025 #Landscape #Photographer of the Year awards. #landscapephotography #photography Be sure to take a look at all the amazing #photos by following this link: www.popsci.com/environment/...

Merry Christmas / Nollaig shona / & Happy New Year / Aithbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise díobh uile

2026 calendar by @corkgeological.bsky.social. Spendid photographs of geological structures, fossils, etc. from #Ireland & further afield. Several photos featuring memorable CGA/GGA trip to #Árainn (#InisMór), #AranIslands, led by @johnjfwalsh.bsky.social. @geolsurvie.bsky.social

The past is always present on the beautiful island of Inis Oírr. This is just one of the wonderful wealth of monuments that are featured on our itinerary, available now for Tuatha Members. Not a member yet? Start your Irish archaeological adventure today! www.tuatha.ie/join/

November 22, 1842, contemporary sources describe clouds of ash "rolling up in great masses, wreathing as smoke from a pipe does, but on an enormous scale" over Washington and Oregon - one of the early documented eruptive episodes of St. Helens (who repeated this spectacle 138 years later)🌋

You responsible for wielding the sledgehammer, @nigelmonaghan-nh.bsky.social?

Nice to see Emain Macha / Loughnashade highlighted. A fine place to visit at any time of year. Photos taken on a fine June day 2015 during a visit to the Centre & this impresssive site. All the more memorable on account of the expert guidance by Prof Jim Mallory of @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social

#GGA lecture this evening at 7 pm: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill. The subject matter has seldom been more topical 😳

Panels of Irish ‘Marble’ in the foyer of what is now the Department of Justice in Dublin. Stunning example of #urbangeology

Climbed to the crater of #Vesuvius yesterday. Amazing to see gases emerging & smell S. Unfortunately, no explanations of the complex stratigraphy. Vegetation struggling to gain a foothold on the Volcanic deposits. Panoramic views of the Bay of Naples

Farming side by side with nature in an upland region of Teneriffe, although this type of farming is clearly on the decline. Curaíocht traidisiúnta i sléibhte Teneriffe. Cuireann sé i gcuimhne dhom sléibhte Conamara beagán, tá fiú raithneach ag fás sna áiteanna nach bhfuil curtha níos mó...

Tuesday, 11 Nov, 19:00 h, #GGA Zoom lecture: The Ethics of Mineral Extraction by Dr Nick O'Neill, #TCD. Earthrise (Dec 24 1968), by Bill Anders (NASA, Apollo 8), shows earth as a fragile blue marble in blackness of space. It inspired the 1st Earth Day 1970 & this lecture. www.galwaygeology.net

In today's edition of our free #MonumentMonday newsletter, we take a trip to Boa Island on Lough Erne to visit two of the most enigmatic characters in Irish archaeology.

Although I can't be at today's @geolassoc.bsky.social event, my biography of Mary Anning, 'The Fossil Woman A Life of Mary Anning' which was published by The Dovecote Press five years ago today, will be there, available from the @hoggroup.bsky.social stand.

Not to be missed: public lecture on lives of the last Neanderthals by Prof Clive Finlayson, internationally renowed expert on Neanderthals & their role in human evolution - THIS EVENING 18:00h @uniofgalway.bsky.social

There are few places to match Glendalough in October 🍂 What a beautiful day at one of my favourite places!

A welcome reprieve from politics and sleep deprivation.

Reading William Whewell's 1832 review of Lyell's Principles of Geology, Vol 2, in which he coined "uniformitarianism", and I just love this passage summarizing what in many modern geological textbooks would describe as the principle of uniformitarianism. babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hv...

BGS' GeoIndex viewer has been given a major upgrade and is available as a beta release. It includes core geological data layers, such as 625K- and 50K-scale digital geological mapping and borehole datasets, to allow for focused user testing. Visit the app: geoindex.bgs.ac.uk?_ga=2.224738...

Reminder: this evening’s (Wed, 15 October at 7pm) GGA @galway-geol-ass.bsky.social Zoom lecture: Coastal boulder deposits on the #AranIslands BY Professor Rónadh Cox (Williams College, MA, USA). For Z link email: [email protected] 😉🌊 @wildatlanticway.bsky.social

#AdaLovelaceDay: that Ada's contemporary, Mary Anning, was much more than a fossil dealer is clear from her letters with her observations on coprolites, the orientation of Pentacrinites and their association with fossil wood, and her dissection of living marine molluscs to understand fossil sepia.

A fascinating article by BBC News about the Dewars Farm Quarry dinosaur trackway excavation by scientists from across the UK and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, including some fabulous computer generated animation. Great stuff! www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

#GGA #geology fieldtrip to Birr/Ferbane, #Offaly on Saturday started at a golf course & ended in a church. The strongly undulating landscape at #Birr golf course has its origins in the melting glaciers of c. 19k years ago. A fine esker (Riada), steep-sided & wood covered, forms the western boundary

We could all use do with a little well-being these days, so in today's edition of our #MonumentMonday newsletter we take a trip to County Kerry to visit Tober na Molt (also known as Wether's Well). This lovely holy well has associations with the famous St Brendan the Navigator, St Ita and St Erc.