Geology of County Louth - an illustrated talk by Brendan McSherry, Heritage Officer for County Louth

Our next talk, on Monday 4th of January 2010 at the Spirit Store, will stray away from the birds of County Louth to the geology and geological history of the County. For such a small county Louth boasts geological features dating from three key geological periods in earths history. Bird habitats such as Dundalk Bay, the Cooley Mountains or Carlingford Lough, are created through geological processes over millions of years, processes with which birds have evolved. For example, bird migration started with the ebb and flow of the ice ages. Bedrock geology determines the quality of soil and therefore habitat. Geological processes created the mountain peaks where the Peregrine Falcon nests as much as the submerged skerries and moraine where the Guillemot hunts.

Brendan qualified as a geologist and practiced as one for several years before getting into the heritage business, making him the perfect speaker to elucidate this fascinating subject.

Carlingford Mountain represents the eroded root of a much larger volcano that erupted during the Palaeogene Period which started 61 million years ago.