192 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



rents, the wave of the "flow-tide" coming in from the Atlantic 

 strikes the west coast of Ireland, and divides, part going northward 

 round the north coast, and part eastward, along the south coast, until 

 it has passed Carnsore Point, where it enters the Irish Sea and flows 

 northward until it meets the north wave, in the vicinity of the Isle 

 of Man. These waves form, in places, on-shore currents; and the 

 most conspicuous of those on the coast-line which we are now con- 

 sidering are as follows : — When the south wave passes Hook Point it 

 sends a branch to the iN'.E., along the east shore of the Hook pro- 

 montory to Bannow Bay, where, at the Keragh Islands, it is met by 

 a " counter-tide." West and east of the Saltee Islands there are also 

 two branch on-shore currents. The western Saltee current runs 

 north-eastward to Kilmore Pier, where it turns westward and forms 

 the " counter-tide " that meets the Hook current at the Keragh 

 Islands. At the meeting of these two currents a shoal has accu- 

 mulated. Under ordinary circumstances the current fi'om Hook 

 carries the beach with it only to the neighbourhood of Keragh, 

 as proved by the fact that the stones from the Hook promontory are 

 rarely found beyond Keragh. The "counter-tide" west of Ealmore 

 carries the beach Is.W. along Ballyteige Bay ; and during the last 

 forty years- (since the Ordnance Maps were made)^has lengthened the 

 Ballyteige sandhills more than two hundi'ed feet. 



The eastern Saltee on-shore current flows first 'N.^. and then, 

 eastward along the coast to Carnsore Point, during two-thii'ds of the 

 " flow- tide" ; but during the last two hours of the " flow" ^ there is a 

 "half counter-tide" setting westward from Carnsore to the Kiltui'k 

 Bank. The driftage towards the N.E., due to both the western and 

 eastern Saltee currents, forms, at their colliding, long ridges called 

 St. Patrick's Bridges, between the two Saltees and between the 

 north Saltee and the mainland ; while the meeting of the driftage 

 due to the east current and to the " half counter-tide" fi'om Carnsore 

 have formed the Kilturk Bank. 



In the Irish Sea the on-shore current runs north from Carnsore to 

 Crreenore,* where three currents, at least, are produced ; one going 

 north along the east margin of the Long Bank, the second in the 

 channel to the west of the Long Bank, while the thiixl sweeps round 

 the shore of the South or Ballygeary Bay. The fii'st or east current 

 carries fragments of the Greenore and Carnsore rocks and other de- 

 tritus to the Long Bank, and fi'om it north-eastward to the Black- 

 water Bank, and from the latter to the " Shingle Beach," Cahore, 



2 Here and elsewhere forty years is mentioned, as it was about that time the 

 Ordnance Survey Maps were published. Prior to them there are no authentic 

 records of the coast-line. 



3 This is an average, as the " half counter-tide " begins sooner during "springs" 

 than in " neaps." 



* The Greenore mentioned in this Paper is in the County of "Wexford, and 

 must not be confounded with the Greenore to the north (County of Louth) . 



