148 



HARDWICKE'S SCI EN CE- GOSSIP. 



SKETCHES IN THE WEST OF IRELAND. 



Chapter III. 



Rocks of the Burren. 



A S mentioned ia the introductory chapter, the 

 -^^ Burren rock par excellence is upper lime- 

 stone, with the lower coal-measure shales over- 

 lyin,!? it at the south of the barony, while an outlier 

 of similar rocks occurs between Lisdoonvarna and 

 Ballyraughan. These basal shales may be seen in 

 various places along the line of boundary of this 

 outline ; but they can be best studied in the 

 numerous ravines about Lisdoonvarna. In most of 

 these, an observer can walk on a bed of limestone 

 with a wall of shale on both sides ; and it is at the 

 junctions of these shales with the limestone that the 

 spa-wells occur, for which the place has become 

 celebrated. Some of these waters contain iron, 

 others sulphur, and a few magnesia in solution ; and 

 it appears remarkable that in places two distinct 

 classes of wells should occur together; the most 

 notable case of the kind occurring at the stream 

 south of Rooska Lodge, where there are two springs, 

 one sulphur and the other iron, coming out of the 

 cracks in the rock, both quite distinct, and yet 

 close together. To receive the water of each, small 

 basins have been cut in the limestone rocks, and 

 over them has been erected a small rectangular 

 shed-like cover. The Lisdoonvarna waters are very 

 beneficial in various ailments, especially in rheu- 

 matic cases. They have been known, and resorted 

 to for ages; but within the last few years they 

 have come into greater repute. In the shales will 

 be found such fossils as Posidonomya, Pecten papyra- 

 ecus, Goniatites, &c. The coal-measure rocks form 

 quite a different type of coast to the limestone, as the 

 cliffs for the most part are perpendicular and high, 

 the highest being the cliffs of Mohen that are 

 situated to the north-west of the Spas. 



The "Burren type limestone" occurs in beds 

 from a few inches to several yards in thickness, is 

 more or less crystalline, and traversed by numerous 

 systems of joints, in some cases so" close together as 

 to cut the rock into slabs like coarse slates. On 

 Mccount of the drying to which the bare rock is 

 exposed, it has contracted considerably, and when 

 thin-bedded it often breaks up into loose flaggy 

 fragments that emit a metallic sound when struck, 

 and not unfrequently are so balanced on one 

 another, that when quivering in a breeze they give 

 out a peculiar tinkling fairy-like music, quite in 

 keeping with the character of the associated wild 

 crags, hills, and glens : this may help to foster the 

 love of the natives for their romantic stories and 

 legends, few spots being without one. 



Eossils are not uncommon, but those most 

 characteristic are some of the corals, such as Litho- 

 strotion affin?, L. striatum, L.jitnceuw, L. irregulare. 



L. basaltiforme, L. Portlocki, and Alveolites depressa. 

 The Lithostrotia often form thick beds miles in 

 extent ; they sometimes are entirely composed of 

 silex, as also is the Alveolites ; and when the latter 

 occurs on sheets of rock it is liable to weather out, 

 forming peculiar-shaped marks and hollows, like 

 human foot-prints, or the marks left by the feet of 

 quadrupeds, that also have helped to give rise to the 

 ancient legends. In Glen Columbkille, at the north 

 end, is a magnificent cliff* called Kinallia, rising to 

 a perpendicular height of 500 feet. Near its base 

 is a bare sheet of limestone covered by these pe- 

 culiar marks, due to the weathering out of the 

 A. depressa, which has given rise to the following 

 story .—In a chapel at the foot of the cliff, the ruins 

 of which still remain, dwelt Saint McDuagh with 

 his clerk, while, five miles distant, at the castle of 

 Dungory, near the present town of Kinrarra, lived 

 Gooragii, the chieftain of the country, and the 

 saint's brother. It happened one time that provision 

 in the glen failed, till at last the servant could stand 

 it no longer, and prayed his master to leave the 

 place, or they must die of starvation. The saint, 

 however, was not of this opinion, for by inspiration 

 he knew that his brother, with his lords and re- 

 tainers, had just returned from hunting, and were 

 at that moment sitting down to a sumptuous banquet 

 at Dungory Castle. He therefore offered up a 

 prayer, and to the astonishment and delight of his 

 clerk, a repast, far exceeding anything he had ever 

 seen or imagined, was instantly spread before him. 

 His joy, however, was short-lived, as the chieftain 

 and his friends did not wish quietly to give up their 

 dinner, and the moment it took flight the cry was, 

 " To horse and follow." This they did, and presently 

 the saint and his frightened attendant saw them 

 rushing on at full speed. The saint, however, was 

 equal to the occasion, and immediately offered up 

 another prayer, when the feet of the men, horses 

 and dogs became embedded in the rock, where their 

 owners had to remain, looking on during the good 

 man's repast. How they got away is not recorded, 

 but the tracks of their feet remain unto this day. 

 A lover of romance may pick up many other legends 

 of the country — about the wicked Sheoge that 

 carried off the children; the good Phuca that saved 

 the cattle; the Leprahaun that sits over the treasure 

 hid in Glen Columbkille ; the Banshee that visits 

 the O'Briens and McNamaras previous to their 

 death; or the wild horses that come out of the 

 caves and devour up the crops ; but if recorded here, 

 this chapter would scarcely ever end. 



Indications of minerals have been observed in 

 various places, but none of the mining works have 

 been successful. South-west of Glen Columbkille, 

 and a mile south-west of the ruins of Castletown, 

 a handsome variegated yellow and blue botryoidal 

 calamine was found; while in other places are small 

 veins of the sulphides of iron, lead, and copper. 



