Peter Lewis Memorial Gold Panning Excursion

Peter Lewis panning for gold
Past President of IGA, the late Peter Lewis

Irish Geological Association Excursion
to Bohernabreena, Co. Wicklow

with Owen McFadden and Gordon Poole

For long time members this is a very important trip. A time to remember our old friend Peter, who is greatly missed by those who had the pleasure to be involved with the IGA when he was around, enjoying one of his favourite past times, gold panning! He would be delighted to know that we’re still inspiring amateur geologists to be their own prospectors and welcoming members old and new to experience a fun day of Gold Panning!

The outing promises to promote interpersonal interactions among participants, providing yet another opportunity for the eclectic gatherings of the IGA to enjoy a great day out. Everyone will have the chance to pan for gold and witness the small sluice in action in the field, encouraging collaboration and a pleasant, shared experience. As always, what makes the day is the participants that choose to come along.

When? Saturday 20th September 2025, 11am.

Where? Meet up at Bohernabreena Upper Lake Car Park, County Dublin. Paid Car parking (€5 in cash, please).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FQBzo6uCaLEB5A689
Grid ref. 53.258669, -6.368991
Easily accessible from J12 of the M50.

Panning will take place at the location below, which is a short walk away from the car park.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KyNTeRozoAoKMiDB8
Grid ref. 53.226024, -6.35108073

What to bring? Wellies, gloves, and appropriate clothing to keep warm. If you have your own gold pan, then bring it along.

Register by clicking HERE before 15h September. Numbers are limited to 15 so please register early. There will be a waiting list and we will advise you if you’re on this following completion of the registration form.

Contact:

stephen.carrington@ucd.ie

Mobile 086 2201 600                      

Acknowledgement: The IGA is most grateful to the Geological Survey of Ireland for the loan of pans and sieves for this event.

Leaders:

Gordon Poole is currently president of the IGA. He graduated from University College, Dublin in 2003 with a degree in Geology. Since then Gordon has worked as a Geological Consultant on Environmental Impact Studies and for a time worked in the Geological Survey, Ireland, in the Minerals Section under Gerry Stanley. He joined the Mineral Exploration industry and spent the following 10 years exploring for Copper, Nickel and Gold in Southern Africa. Gordon is currently working as a Data Management Consultant in Ireland with a focus on GIS and Data-Governance.

Owen McFadden is a seasoned educator with a B.Sc. in Biotechnology and an M.Sc. in Science Communication, bringing over 25 years of experience in lecturing at the third level. While his academic background is not strictly in geology, his passion for the subject has developed through extensive fieldwork, global travel, and recreational exploration. Hailing from Donegal but residing for three decades near the Dublin Mountains, Owen has cultivated a special appreciation for geological formations and processes, which he is eager to share with fellow enthusiasts.

In recent years, Owen’s geological pursuits have been enriched by his young son, Evan, who has developed a fascination with prospecting, hydrology, and the intricacies of rocks. Together, they have participated in various IGA excursions.

Their adventures have included gold panning in local streams, where they have dammed water to enhance their prospecting efforts. Although they have yet to discover a significant gold deposit (!!), the four flakes they have collected serve as cherished tokens of their outings, particularly those with our gold finding mentor Frank Clissman, who introduced them to the art of gold panning.

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Irish Heritage Week 2025 and the Irish Geological Association

We have a great program this year for Irish Heritage week. Please see the list below and check the calendar for updates. The full list of Heritage Week events can be found here.



T U E S D A Y – N I N E T E E N T H

AVOCA

Avoca, Co. Wicklow

Theme: Building on our foundations of Mining Heritage – There’s Copper in them thar hills

Date: Tuesday 19August 2025

Location: White Bridge, Avoca

Time: 3.30pm – 5:00pm

Leader: Nick Coy, Maria Cullen, Irish Geological Association

Capacity: 20 people

Theme: Mining History and biodiversity.



W E D N E S D A Y – T W E N T Y T H

HOOK LIGHTHOUSE – FOSSILS OF THE HOOK

Theme: Building on the foundations of the Geology of Southeast Ireland – a geological and biological view.

Date – Wednesday, 20 August 2025

Location: Hook Lighthouse

Time: 2:30pm to 5:00pm

Leaders: Irish Geological Association, Maria Cullen and Howard Fox

Capacity: 20 people



T H U R S D A Y  – T W E N T Y     F I R S T

NINE STONES to MOUNT LEINSTER

Event/Project title: 9 Stones Car Park to Mount Leinster Summit, Co. Carlow

Theme: Building on the Foundations of the Geology of Southeast Ireland – a geological and biological view.

Date: Thursday, 21st August

Location: Meet at Nine Stones Car Park, Walk up to Mount Leinster’s Summit 

Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm

Leaders: Irish Geological Association, Maria Cullen and Howard Fox

Capacity: 20 people



F R I D A Y – T W E N T Y    S E C O N D

WALLS OF ROSS

Event/Project title: The WALLS OF ROSS – their Geology and associated Lichens, Mosses, Liverworts, Algae and Flowering Plants

Theme: Building on the Foundations of the medieval and more recent walls and quarries of New Ross have a distinct biodiversity of Cryptogamic and Vascular Plants.

New Ross town centre has a range of building stones and old walls with epilithic life.

The main tree and shrub species are Sycamore with a ground cover that includes Ivy. Unusual species include the lichens Lempholemma myriococcum on Brennan’s Lane.   

Date: Friday 22 August 2026

Location: John’s Street Car Park to Saint Michael’s Parish Church, New Ross, Co. Wexford.

Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm

Leader: Maria Cullen and Howard Fox, Irish Geological Association

Capacity: 20 people



S A T U R D A Y – T W E N T Y   T H I R D

CAMOLIN WOOD

Millenium Forest at Camolin Park with Woodlands of Ireland. Joe Gowran & Maria Cullen

Date: 23 August 2025


23 August, 5:30pm – 8pm

Kilcoe Studios

Main Street Ballydehob Co Cork

P81 X009

Co. Cork County


Seaweed- Food and craft with Kelp ink making, Basket demonstration,

Seaweed- Food and craft with Kelp ink making, Basket demonstration, Seaweed tasting and Drinks.

This is a celebration of the Sea where Sonia will first do a short talk about the heritage traditions of gathering seaweed and what it was used for in Coastal communities, including looking at the baskets used and how they were made. Then Samuel will demonstrate how he makes ink from Kelp and each person can then get a chance to paint with this. Sonia will also demonstrate basket making techniques that were used to gather seaweed. This will be followed by snacks and drinks which will incorporate seaweed and other foraged wild ingredients. You can then avail of the many places to eat and drink in Ballydehob village.

Facilitated by Sonia Caldwell and Samuel Arnold Keane
€45 Booking essential at events@kilcoestudios.com

Let us know dietary requirements


Further Information

Kilcoe Studios

0870667871

events@kilcoestudios.com

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Lambay: a volcano in Iapetus

IGA Excursion: Saturday 6th September 2025

Lambay Island (Irish: Reachrainn),[3] often simply Lambay, is an island in the Irish Sea off the coast of north County Dublin, Ireland. The largest island off the east coast of Ireland, it is four kilometres (two nautical miles) offshore from the headland at Portrane, and is the easternmost point of the province of Leinster. Of volcanic origin, it has been inhabited since the prehistoric period and has been the subject of multiple archaeological studies. Lambay has notable populations of seabirds, a range of local fauna, some not found elsewhere in Ireland, and a herd of wallabies, as well as more than 300 plant species, and was the subject a major multidisciplinary study of flora and fauna between 1905 and 1907. The island is privately owned by the Baring family[4] and managed by a Trust. It has a very small permanent population residing in the architecturally important buildings but also hosts some day-visitors and short-stay guests. There is a working farm and a newly established micro-distillery producing ‘Lambay Whiskey’.

Co-Leader: Dr. Brian McConnell.

Brian retired in 2022 as Principal Geologist of Geological Survey Ireland, where he managed the Geological Mapping and Geoheritage Programmes and he participated in EU and international energy and geohazards projects with EuroGeosurveys and UNESCO. Brian’s research focuses primarily on magmatic and sedimentary sequences related to the ancient Iapetus Ocean in Ireland and beyond.

Co-Leader: Dr. Stephen Newton.

Stephen is Senior Seabird Advisor at BirdWatch Ireland and Chairman of the Irish Rare Breeding Birds Panel. He manages the Roseate Tern Conservation effort on nearby Rockabill and is currently researching the movement patterns of Puffins and Kittiwakes Breeding on Lambay. His first degree was in Geology and he did spend 4 years working in the oil industry before switching to a bird conservation career. Whilst at university, his principal interest was the Hebridean Tertiary Igneous Province and the Borrowdale Volcanic Group in the English Lake District.

Objectives of the excursion.

Geology: We will examine the volcanic and sedimentary rocks, their facies and relations, to reconstruct (imagine!) the evolution of the Ordovician Lambay volcano.  Volcanic rocks include basaltic and andesitic lavas and high-level intrusions, including the famous Lambay Porphyry. Sedimentary rocks include turbidites, graptolite-bearing shale, and fossiliferous limestone. Volcano-sedimentary interactions between these deposits produced limestone conglomerate in a tuff matrix and peperite.  We can put our finger on the end of the Caledonian orogenic cycle – the unconformity with the overlying Old Red conglomerate.

It is many years since Brian was on the island; key localities are known but specific outcrops are hazy, so we will explore, observe and interpret together.  Expect to walk about 8 km on rough ground with hills and some scrambling down to slippery coastal rocks.

Wildlife: Lambay is both a Special Protection Area for birds and a Special Area of Conservation for flora and habitats. It is one of the largest seabird colonies in Ireland supporting 13 species including Ireland’s newest Gannetry, Puffins and Manx Shearwaters. Most seabirds will have left the island by the time we visit but there still should be a chance to see some Gannets on nests. It is the largest Grey Seal rookery in County Dublin and we should see plenty together with Common/Harbour Seals.

Further important information.

In order to get out to Lambay, we will need to hire a boat and a skipper. The boat’s capacity is 12 people. If there is demand, a second crossing can be undertaken, but the boat needs to be full on each trip to ensure the lowest possible price per person. We will also need to pay for the leaders’ costs. The overall price will be €90 a head. This will be required in advance.  I anticipate that we will get up to 12 participants very soon, but I may need to put numbers in excess of this on a wait list while I wait to see if we have enough people to fill a second trip by the same boat. Because of tides the boatman advises Sailing 1 Dep 7.30 Ret 18.30; Sailing 2 Dep 8.30 ret 19.30 (if numbers permit).  Final details and information on transport and parking will be circulated to registrants when final numbers have been determined. You will also be able to state a preference for a particular sailing (if we have enough people for two).

After registering successfully (See link below). You will then be sent instructions for payment for final registration after around 1 week.  Please note that the deposit of €90 will cover the entire cost of the trip, and will only be refundable if someone on the waiting list agrees to take up a place that falls vacant. A full refund will be paid if the boat cannot depart for any reason.

Please note that landing on Lambay is weather dependent, so it is possible that we may need to defer the trip to the following day (Sunday the 7th September). In extremis, we may be able to undertake the trip the following weekend but this is unlikely.

We anticipate spending at least 7 hours on the island. Good footwear (hiking boots) is required (no wellies please).  A packed lunch should be brought and plenty to drink. Nothing is available on the island so we need to be self-sufficient. We should have access to a toilet in the harbour area if needed.

Registration.

Lambay is a place that relatively few are able to visit and we are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to go there. Please register by clicking HERE

Download Lambay Excursion Information Flier
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