The Coastal Atlas of Ireland

The Coastal Atlas of Ireland is a celebration of Ireland's coastal and marine spaces. Drawing on written contributions from over 100 authors from across the island of Ireland and beyond, the Atlas takes an explicitly all-island approach; though the work has a much wider relevance and potential reader interest. It is organised into six sections, comprising a total of 33 chapters, that take the reader from the distant geological past, by way of the prehistoric era and a focus on the island's physical environments, through time and the human colonisation of Ireland, to the complex cultural and economic landscapes of the near past and the present day. It concludes with an assessment of the importance of coastal and marine environments in understanding the island's past, appreciating the present, and contemplating future opportunities and challenges. Although not claiming to be encyclopaedic, when read in its entirety the Atlas will provide readers with a fascinating and comprehensive excursion through time and space along Ireland's coastline. The Atlas is equally suited to being read in progression or, if preferred, can be dipped into and navigated according to the specific interests of the reader. Within each chapter, in addition to the core text, a series of featured subjects and case studies provide greater-depth explorations of particular topics or examples related to the central theme. In addition, the maps, photos and other illustrations that accompany the text have been provided with self-contained captions that may also be browsed before a more immersive reading is undertaken. Ireland has often emerged as a global leader in its many engagements with the sea, including in marine and coastal science, the pursuit of a 'blue' (and green) economy, the championing of conservation goals, and in the development of sustainable marine renewable-energy resources. In the middle of the current "UN Decade for Ocean Science"(UNESCO), the Atlas celebrates these achievements, while pointing the way for future research and explorations that build on these foundations. The complex of physical and human themes developed in this Atlas has international relevance for coastal communities worldwide, and especially those located in mid-latitudes. Nowhere else in the world has such an all-embracing and multifaceted exploration of a nation's, or an island's, coast been undertaken.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Ireland's Coasts: Setting the Scene (Darius Bartlett, Barry Brunt, Robert Devoy, Val Cummins and Sarah Kandrot) Chapter 2: The Coastal Environment: Physical System Processes and Patterns (Robert Devoy, Andrew J. Wheeler, Barry Brunt and Kieran Hickey) - Box: Cold-water corals, reefs and carbonate mounds (Andrew J. Wheeler and Aaron Lim) - Box: Coasts as systems (Darius Bartlett) - Vignette: Night of the Big Wind (1839) (Kieran Hickey) - Box: Tides (Eugene Farrell) - Box: Impacts and Implications of Tsunami on Ireland (Robert Devoy) - Box: From Source to Sink: Studying a Coastal Catchment (Eugene Farrell and Robert Devoy) Chapter 3: Marine Biology and Ecology (Mark Jessopp and Michelle Cronin) - Case Study: Waterbirds in Irish Coastal Areas (John Quinn, Brian Burke, Sean Kelly) - Vignette: Maude Delap (Damien Haberlin) - Box: Ellen Hutchins: Ireland's First Female Botanist (Madeline Hutchins) - Case Study: Jellyfish in Irish Coastal Waters (Tom Doyle) - Box: Lessons leaned from long-term phytoplankton monitoring at Sherkin Island, West Cork (Matt Murphy) Chapter 4: People, Agriculture and the Coast (Barry Brunt, Michael Keane and David Meredith) - Box: Windmills (Robert Devoy) - Case Study: Blanket bogs and the cutting of peat/turf (Barry Brunt) - Case Study: Deep Geography: Memory, Community and Continuity of Coastal Place Names (Patrick O' Flanagan) - Box: The Dun Chaochain Placename Collection Project (Treasa Ni Gearraigh agus Uinsionn Mac Graith) - Vignette: Daniel O' Connell and Derrynane: The Coastal Connection (Robert Devoy) - Case Study: Sea and Shore Foods (Regina Sexton) - Chapter 5: Geological Foundations (Patrick A. Meere) - Vignette: The coast through the eyes of a geologist (Robert Devoy) - Vignette: Tetrapod Trackway, Valencia Island, County Kerry (Kenneth T. Higgs) - Box: The collection of geological data from shelf and coastal waters (Aaron Lim) Chapter 6: Glaciation and Ireland's Arctic Inheritance (Paul Dunlop) - Vignette: Ailsa Craig (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Tidewater glacial sedimentation in Ireland: Identification and Significance (Stephen McCarron) Chapter 7: Ancient Shorelines and Sea-level changes (Robin Edwards and Robert Devoy) - Box: Sea levels and Ireland's ancient seabeds (Andrew J. Wheeler) Chapter 8: Visualising, Mapping and Monitoring Coasts (Darius Bartlett) - Case Study: Ptolemy's Inventory for Ireland - Geographical Features and Places (Mick Monk) - Box: Geographical Information Systems (Darius Bartlett) - Case Study: The impact of coastal web atlas development (Kathrin Kopke, Sophie Power, Adam Leadbetter and Eoin O' Grady) - Case Study: Deep Maps: West Cork Coastal Cultures (Claire Connolly, Rachel Murphy, Breda Moriarty, Orla-Peach Power, Michael Waldron, Rob McAllen) - Box: Digital mapping and charting (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Textual and photographic descriptions of the coast for navigational purposes (Norman Kean) - Box: Vessel monitoring, identification and tracking systems (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Satellite remote sensing of the coastal regions of Ireland (Fiona Cawkwell) - Box: Laser Technologies (Sarah Kandrot) - Box: Sensors and autonomous data collecting devices (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Elfordstown Earthstation: Ireland's Strategic Link (Linda Fitzpatrick) Chapter 9: Underwater Surveys: the INFOMAR Project (Eoin Mac Craith, Sean Cullen, Charise McKeon, Eimear O' Keeffe, David O' Sullivan, Ronan O'Toole, Gill Scott and Xavier Monteys) - Box: Sonar (Darius Bartlett) - Box: UAVs for Coastal Zone Mapping (Ronan O' Toole) - Box: Investigating the wreck of the Guinness ship, the SS W.M. Barkley (Charise McKeon) - Box: Mapping herring spawning beds with reported fisheries and backscatter data (David O' Sullivan) - Box: Mapping the seabed geology of Inishbofin, County Geology with Bathymetric Data (Eoin Mac Craith) - Box: Habitat mapping of Kenmare river using multibeam echosounder data (Eimear O' Keeffe) - Box: Tanker Rock: A 'rare event' justification for the inshore mapping programme (Sean Cullen) Chapter 10: Rocky Coasts (Maxim Kozachenko, Ruth M. O'Riordan, Rob McAllen and Robert Devoy) - Box: Shore Platforms (Niamh Cullen and Mary Bourke) - Box: Coastal Boulder deposits on the Aran Islands (Ronadh Cox) - Box: Lough Hyne: a marine reserve in crisis (Rob McAllen, Cynthia Trowbridge, James Bell, Julia Nunn and Colin Little) Chapter 11: Beaches and Barriers (Julian Orford) - Vignette: Machair (Derek Jackson) - Box: Maerl (Eugene Farrell) - Vignette: Why do beaches erode? (Andrew Cooper) - Vignette: Why are dunes at the coast? (Derek Jackson) - Box: Coastal dunes (Derek Jackson) - Case Study: Ecology of sand dune habitats in Ireland (Aoife Delaney) - Vignette: Is sediment size the only determinant of transport potential? (Julian Orford) - Vignette: How high can beaches reach? (Julian Orford) - Box: Beaches and the problem of coastal defences (Andrew Cooper) Chapter 12: Coastal Wetlands (Deborah Chapman) - Case Study: Saltmarshes (Grace Cott) - Box: Salt marshes and global climate change: Blue Carbon (Grace Cott) - Box: Spartina in Ireland (Grace Cott) Chapter 13: Estuaries and Lagoons (Sorcha Ni Longphuirt and Robert Devoy) - Box: Estuary Types (Sorcha Ni Longphuirt and Robert Devoy) - Case Study: The Ecology of Mudflats: Clonakilty Harbour (John Davenport, Lesley J. Lewis and Thomas C. Kelly) - Case Study: Coastal Lagoons: A Barrier to the terrestrial environment and a filter for the marine environment (Susan Lettice (posthumously), Greg Beechinor and Deborah Chapman) Chapter 14: Imagining Coasts (Ronan Foley and Anna Ryan) - Box: The Coast of Ireland on Screen (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Architecture of Coastal Essences: Vico, Dublin Bay (Anna Ryan) - Box: Where land meets sea: An Exploration of Coastal Landscapes (Anna Ryan) - Vignette: Seal Woman Story (Roksana Niewadzisz) - Case Study: Between the tides: The influence of the coast on the life and work of the painter (John Simpson) - Box: Sand Sculpting: Making Shapes out of Sand (Kyle Fawkes) Chapter 15: Coastal Heritage (Beatrice Kelly, Val Cummins and Gerlanda Maniglia) - Box: Lore of the Shore: Skills, Story and Song (Cliona O' Carroll) - Box: Friends of the Murrough (Gerlanda Maniglia) - Box: Meitheal Mara (Val Cummins) - Case Study: The heritage of the Irish revolution: Coastal Legacies (John Borgonovo) - Box: Roger Casement, 1916 and the use of coast in the struggle for independence (Fiona Devoy McAuliffe) - Box: The Spanish Armada in Ireland (Hiram Morgan) - Box: RMS Lusitania - History of a Lost Liner (Eunan O' Halpin) - Box: Heritage Collections: Sources of Lore for research and enjoyment (Cliona O'Caroll) Chapter 16: The Inhabitants of Ireland's Early Coastal Landscapes (Peter Woodman (posthumously) and Robert Devoy) - Box: The role of sand dunes in coastal archaeology (Robert Devoy and Peter Woodman (posthumously) - Box: Mesolithic People and Ferriters Cove (Peter Woodman (posthumously) - Box: Shell Middens on the South Coast: Past, Present and Future (Peter Woodman (posthumously) - Case Study: Irish Promontory Forts (Muireann Ni Cheallachain) Chapter 17: The Vikings and Normans: Coastal Invaders and Settlers (John Sheehan and Michael Potterton) - Case Study: The Brendan Voyage (Darius Bartlett) - Box: Coastal Tide Mills (Colin Rynne) - Box: Norse Place Names (John Sheehan) - Box: A Hiberno-Scandinavian Settlement on Beginish Island, County Kerry (John Sheehan) Chapter 18: Era of Settlement: Trade, Plantation and Piracy (James Lyttleton) - Case Study: Piracy, Smuggling and Coastal Access (Connie Kelleher) - Vignette: Grace O' Malley (Barry Brunt) - Box: The Sack of Baltimore (Bernie McCarthy) - Case Study: Plantations (Annaleigh Margey) - Box: Ireland and Slavery: Coastal Connections that became bittersweet (Nini Rodgers) Chapter 19: Changing Coastal Landscapes (Patrick O' Flanagan) - Box: The Port and the Harbours of Dublin Bay (Rob Goodbody) - Box: Belfast Port and Shipbuilding (Stephen A. Royle) - Box: The Port of Limerick (Des McCafferty) - Case Study: Coastal Railways (Ray O'Connor and Richard Scriven) - Case Study: Seaside Resorts (Patrick O' Flanagan) Chapter 20: The Great Famine (Marita Foster and Barry Brunt) - Case Study: Relief efforts in Ring, County Waterford (Marita Foster) - Vignette: Shell Middens (Robert Devoy) Chapter 21: Ireland's Islands (Stephen A. Royle) - Case Study: Skellig Michael (Sceilg Mhichil) (John Crowley) - Case Study: The Aran Islands (Piaras Mac Einri) - Box: Spike Island, County Cork (Barra O' Donnabhain) - Case Study: Rathlin Island (Stephen A. Royle) Chapter 22: Underwater Cultural Heritage (Karl Brady, Connie Kelleher and Fionnbarr Moore) - Box: The Sixteenth-Century Drogheda Boat Wreck (Holger Schweitzer) - Box: The Late Bronze Age Gormanston Logboat (Niall Brady) - Box: La Surveillante: 1797 wreck of a French Armada frigate (Colin Breen) - Case Study: Encounter with the Irish Coast - the 1588 wrecks of the Spanish Armada (Connie Kelleher, Fionnbarr Moore and Karl Brady) - Case Study: Ireland and the first battle of the Atlantic (Karl Brady) - Box: The protected wreck site of RMS Lusitania: Management, Protection and Preservation of our Underwater Cultural Heritage (Fionnbarr Moore) Chapter 23: Maritime and Nautical Traditions and Institutions (Daire Brunicardi) - Case Study: Traditional Wooden Boats of Ireland (Criostoir Mac Carthaigh) - Box: Blessing of the Boats (Elaine O'Driscoll-Adam) - Box: The Aran Jumper - A Maritime Tradition (Ken Cotter) - Box: The Sea and the Songs (Ken Cotter) - Box: The Tradition of Pilotage: The life of a Pilot (Michael Barry and Cormac Gebruers) - Box: The Coast Watching Service (Daire Brunicardi) - Vignette: The Daunt Rock Lightship Rescue (Ken Cotter) - Case Study: The Irish Naval Service (Daire Brunicardi) - Box: Ireland and the Migration and Human Trafficking Crisis in the Mediterranean (Brian Fitzgerald) - Case Study: Irish Shipping during the Second World War (Daire Brunicardi) - Case Study: Nautical Education in Ireland (Daire Brunicardi) - Box: The Irish Coast Guard (Daire Brunicardi) - Box: The Commissioners of Irish Lights (Daire Brunicardi) - Box: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (Dick Robinson) Chapter 24: Ports and Shipping (Barry Brunt) - Box: Whiddy Island Oil Terminal: Bantry Bay (Barry Brunt) - Box: Whitegate Oil Refinery, Cork Harbour (Barry Brunt) - Case Study: Ireland's Passenger Ferry Ports (Barry Brunt) Chapter 25: Urbanisation of Ireland's Coast (Barry Brunt) - Box: Dublin (Rob Goodbody) - Box: Reimagining Cork as a Port City (William Brady) - Box: The Port of Limerick Today (Des McCafferty) - Box: Belfast (Stephen A. Royle) Chapter 26: Coastal Fisheries & Aquaculture (Mike Fitzpatrick, John Dennis, Donal Maguire, Emmet Jackson, Roy Griffin) - Box: Interactions between Discards and Gannets (Mark Jessopp) - Box: Interactions between Seals and Fisheries (Michelle Cronin) - Box: Celtic Sea Herring Fishery (Mike Fitzpatrick) - Case Study: Aquaculture in the Republic of Ireland (Herbie (John) Dennis, BIM) - Vignette: Research and Development in Aquaculture (Val Cummins) - Case Study: Jellyfish and aquaculture interactions in Irish Coastal Waters (Damien Haberlin) - Case Study: The Seaweed harvesting industry in Ireland (Niamh O'Donoghue and Sarah Kandrot) - Box: Unregulated Harvesting: The Edible Periwinkle (Val Cummins) Chapter 27: Tourism and Leisure (Cathal O' Mahony and Stephen Conlon) - Box: Blue Flag Beaches (Cathal O'Mahony, Kathrin Kopke and Val Cummins) - Box: Surfing in Ireland (Tristan MacCana) - Box: The Wild Atlantic Way (Failte Ireland) - Box: Marinas and Coastal Tourism: The Case of Cobh (Liam Coakley) - Vignette: Dingle Town and Waterfront, County Kerry (Robert Devoy and Barry Brunt) - Vignette: Kinsale Harbour and Town, County Cork (Robert Devoy) - Box: Coastal Trails and Ireland's Ancient East (Cathal O' Mahony) - Box: The Causeway and Mournes Coastal Routeways (Robert Devoy) - Vignette: Sea and Coastal Angling (Val Cummins) - Box: Sailing in Ireland (Val Cummins) - Case Study: Coastal Gardening (Verney Naylor) - Case Study: The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Coastal Geopark: A model for sustainable tourism (Maria McNamara and Eamon Doyle) - Vignette: Coastal Food (Regina Sexton) - Box: Golf Tourism and Coastal Golf Courses (Barry Brunt and Robert Devoy) Chapter 28: Renewable Energies: Wind, Wave and Tidal Power (Fiona Devoy McAuliffe - Box: Gannets and Offshore Windfarms (Mark Jessop) - Vignette: The role of Ulva Lactuca in Biogas Production (David Wall) Chapter 29: Coastal Mining, Quarrying and Hydrocarbon Exploration (David Naylor) - Box: Mountain Mine, Allihies, Beara Peninsula (David Naylor) - Case Study: East Antrim Salt Deposits (David Naylor) - Box: Coastal Quarrying (Matthew Parks and Alastair Lings) - Box: The Coastal Millstone Quarries of Waterford Harbour (Niall Colfer) - Box: Marine Aggregates (Gerry Sutton) - Box: Kinsale Head Gas Field (David Naylor) - Box: The Corrib Gas Field (Marcus Lange) - Case Study: Ireland and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) (Barry Brunt) Chapter 30: Engineering for Vulnerable Coastlines (Jimmy Murphy) - Case Study: A recent history of coastal engineering in Waterville, County Kerry (Michael O'Shea) - Box: Rosslare Strang: Erosion and Protection (Jimmy Murphy) - Case Study: Maharees Conservation Association: A Case Study (Eugene Farrell) - Case Study: Buildings at the coast: An Architects Viewpoint (Anna Ryan) Chapter 31: Pollution (Evin McGovern and Shane O'Boyle) - Box: Sea Lettuce growth in response to high nutrient levels (Robert Wilkes) - Case Study: Plastics in the marine environment (Roisin Nash, Joao Frias, Alicia Mateos-Cardenas) - Vignette: The Betelgeuse Disaster (Darius Bartlett) - Box: The National Contingency Plan (David McMyler) - Box: Weighing the health benefits of seafood consumption against the risks: A case study on mercury in seafood (Evin McGovern and Christina Tlustos) - Box: Boats, Paint and Transgender Snails (Brendan McHugh and Michelle Giltrap) - Box: The impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals (Michelle Cronin and Mark Jessop) Chapter 32: Coastal Management and Planning (Anne Marie O'Hagan and Val Cummins) - Box: Irish extended continental shelf claims under the law of the sea (David Naylor) - Case Study: Ireland's Baselines (Eoin V. Fannon) - Case Study: The Bantry Bay Charter (Val Cummins) - Box: Planning for Ireland's Islands: A Matter of Perspective (Karen Ray and Brendan O'Sullivan) - Case Study: Planning for Ireland's Islands (Karen Ray and Brendan O'Sullivan) Chapter 33: Climate Change and Coastal Futures (Val Cummins, Robert Devoy, Barry Brunt, Darius Bartlett and Sarah Kandrot) - Case Study: Ocean Acidification (Evin McGovern and Triona McGrath) - Box: 'Save Cork City': An Architectural Perspective (John Hegarty) - Case Study: Lessons from a Pristine Palau (Val Cummins)