﻿272 
  ME. 
  F. 
  E.COWPEE 
  EEED 
  ON 
  THE 
  EED 
  EOCKS 
  [May 
  1 
  897, 
  

  

  in 
  1879. 
  * 
  The 
  former 
  says 
  that 
  in 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  Ireland 
  the 
  two 
  

   prominent 
  characteristics 
  of 
  the 
  formation 
  are 
  (1) 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  

   a 
  thick 
  basal 
  conglomerate 
  of 
  quartz, 
  jasper, 
  and 
  other 
  pebbles, 
  and 
  

   (2) 
  its 
  unconformity 
  to 
  the 
  inferior 
  rock. 
  

  

  The 
  basal 
  breccia 
  above 
  mentioned 
  as 
  occurring 
  at 
  Dunmore 
  is 
  a 
  

   local 
  phenomenon, 
  and 
  is 
  found 
  again 
  in 
  the 
  county 
  only 
  along 
  a 
  

   strip 
  of 
  country 
  about 
  6 
  miles 
  in 
  length, 
  extending 
  from 
  the 
  

   northern 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  Reeks 
  of 
  Glenpatrick 
  to 
  the 
  glen 
  of 
  the 
  Cool- 
  

   namuck 
  stream 
  (Geol. 
  Surv. 
  Mem.). 
  

  

  From 
  this 
  rapid 
  survey 
  of 
  the 
  distribution 
  and 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  

   indisputable 
  Old 
  Red 
  Sandstone 
  of 
  the 
  district, 
  we 
  see 
  that 
  it 
  forms 
  

   an 
  incomplete 
  elliptical 
  ring 
  round 
  an 
  irregularly 
  oval 
  area 
  of 
  

   Lower 
  Palaeozoic 
  rocks. 
  Remembering 
  the 
  steep 
  dips 
  of 
  the 
  Old 
  

   Eed 
  Sandstone 
  off 
  this 
  central 
  area 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  south, 
  and 
  

   its 
  lesser 
  dips 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  and 
  west, 
  we 
  recognize 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  

   to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  a 
  denuded 
  elongated 
  dome. 
  The 
  incom- 
  

   pleteness 
  of 
  the 
  ring 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  between 
  Ballyvoyle 
  Head 
  and 
  

   Brownstown 
  Head 
  is 
  due 
  mainly 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  southern 
  limb 
  

   of 
  the 
  dome 
  is 
  now 
  concealed 
  by 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  sea, 
  as 
  Jukes 
  2 
  

   long 
  ago 
  pointed 
  out 
  : 
  but 
  supposing 
  this 
  ring 
  is 
  as 
  irregular 
  on 
  this 
  

   side 
  as 
  on 
  the 
  northern, 
  and 
  the 
  trend 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  as 
  variable, 
  owing 
  

   to 
  minor 
  folds 
  and 
  disturbances, 
  we 
  might 
  not 
  unreasonably 
  expect 
  

   to 
  find 
  some 
  traces 
  of 
  it 
  along 
  the 
  present 
  line 
  of 
  coast. 
  Such 
  

   indeed 
  I 
  believe 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  case, 
  and 
  I 
  hold 
  that 
  the 
  patches 
  of 
  red 
  

   rocks 
  at 
  Bunmahon 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  are 
  fragments 
  of 
  this 
  

   distorted 
  and 
  dislocated 
  ring. 
  Jukes 
  {op. 
  cit.) 
  originally 
  held 
  this 
  

   view, 
  but 
  subsequently 
  abandoned 
  it, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Survey 
  Memoir, 
  

   together 
  with 
  Du 
  Noyer, 
  put 
  forward 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  the 
  red 
  rocks 
  

   here 
  were 
  of 
  ' 
  Lower 
  Silurian 
  ' 
  age, 
  as 
  already 
  stated. 
  

  

  III. 
  Mode 
  of 
  Occuerence 
  and 
  Relations 
  oe 
  the 
  Red 
  Rocks 
  of 
  

   Bunmahon 
  and 
  Neighbourhood. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  westerly 
  exposure 
  of 
  these 
  disputed 
  red 
  rocks 
  occurs 
  in 
  

   the 
  bay 
  of 
  Ballydouane 
  West, 
  immediately 
  east 
  of 
  Killelton 
  Bay 
  

   and 
  stream, 
  and, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  know, 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  noticed 
  previously 
  

   by 
  any 
  writer 
  on 
  these 
  rocks. 
  Immediately 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  steep 
  

   zigzag 
  path, 
  winding 
  down 
  the 
  cliffs 
  to 
  the 
  beach 
  in 
  this 
  bay, 
  is 
  seen 
  a 
  

   rib 
  of 
  red 
  shaly 
  sandstone 
  halfway 
  up 
  the 
  cliff-face. 
  The 
  relations 
  

   of 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  rocks 
  are 
  obscured 
  by 
  the 
  ground 
  being 
  partly 
  

   overgrown 
  and 
  by 
  several 
  landslips, 
  but 
  a 
  careful 
  investigation 
  of 
  

   the 
  lines 
  of 
  junction 
  shows 
  that 
  the 
  red 
  sandstone 
  dips 
  into 
  the 
  cliff 
  

   in 
  a 
  north-westerly 
  direction, 
  and 
  rests 
  unconformably 
  upon 
  the 
  

   igneous 
  rocks 
  which 
  form 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  cliffs. 
  There 
  is 
  

   also 
  a 
  thin 
  layer 
  of 
  coarse 
  angular 
  breccia 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  red 
  

   sandstone, 
  composed 
  of 
  fragments 
  of 
  the 
  underlying 
  felsites, 
  diabases, 
  

  

  1 
  Quart. 
  Journ. 
  Geol. 
  Soc. 
  vol. 
  xxxv. 
  (1879) 
  p. 
  719. 
  

  

  2 
  Journ. 
  Geol. 
  Soc. 
  Dublin, 
  vol. 
  v. 
  (1852) 
  p. 
  147. 
  

  

  