﻿278 
  THE 
  KED 
  ROCKS 
  NEAK 
  BUNMAHON. 
  [May 
  1897. 
  

  

  junction 
  with 
  the 
  talus- 
  covered 
  cliffs 
  of 
  the 
  north-eastern 
  an°le 
  of 
  

   the 
  bay 
  is 
  somewhat 
  obscured 
  high 
  up 
  by 
  grass 
  and 
  rainwash, 
  but 
  

   it 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  along 
  a 
  plane 
  dipping 
  about 
  45° 
  S. 
  Close 
  to 
  the 
  

   level 
  of 
  the 
  beach 
  the 
  older 
  rocks 
  which 
  occur 
  below 
  this 
  line 
  of 
  

   junction 
  are 
  crushed 
  as 
  along 
  a 
  fault-plane, 
  which 
  I 
  take 
  this 
  to 
  be 
  

   (see 
  fig. 
  5, 
  p. 
  277). 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  characters 
  

   of 
  a 
  floor 
  of 
  deposition, 
  like 
  that 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  bay 
  

   described 
  above. 
  

  

  The 
  extreme 
  point 
  of 
  the 
  headland 
  marked 
  Poolatunish, 
  and 
  

   St. 
  John's 
  Island 
  itself, 
  are 
  not 
  composed 
  of 
  these 
  red 
  beds, 
  but 
  of 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  igneous 
  rocks 
  — 
  a 
  ' 
  pale 
  grey 
  felstone 
  ' 
  according 
  

   to 
  the 
  Survey. 
  I 
  was 
  unable, 
  however, 
  to 
  visit 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  

   cliffs 
  at 
  this 
  point, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  inaccessible 
  except 
  by 
  boat. 
  Neverthe- 
  

   less, 
  it 
  was 
  easy 
  to 
  satisfy 
  myself 
  from 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  cliffs 
  that 
  

   the 
  red 
  beds 
  are 
  abruptly 
  cut 
  off 
  by 
  a 
  fault 
  at 
  this 
  point, 
  and 
  that 
  

   a 
  block 
  of 
  the 
  complex 
  and 
  varied 
  older 
  igneous 
  rocks 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  

   is 
  brought 
  against 
  them 
  by 
  this 
  means. 
  

  

  Standing 
  on 
  the 
  extremity 
  of 
  this 
  headland 
  of 
  Poolatunish, 
  and 
  

   looking 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  small 
  cove 
  east 
  of 
  it, 
  one 
  can 
  see 
  the 
  cliffs 
  

   in 
  its 
  bend 
  composed 
  of 
  the 
  easterly 
  extension 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  mass 
  

   of 
  red 
  beds 
  of 
  Ballydouane 
  Bay, 
  dipping 
  south-east. 
  They 
  are 
  

   sharply 
  defined 
  by 
  faults 
  from 
  the 
  igneous 
  rocks, 
  forming 
  the 
  

   promontories 
  enclosing 
  the 
  cove. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  that 
  the 
  fault 
  in 
  the 
  

   eastern 
  promontory 
  is 
  merely 
  the 
  continuation 
  of 
  that 
  which 
  cuts 
  

   across 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  Poolatunish. 
  At 
  any 
  rate 
  the 
  fault 
  of 
  the 
  

   eastern, 
  promontory 
  must 
  run 
  in 
  a 
  N.W.E. 
  direction 
  inland, 
  as 
  no 
  

   red 
  beds 
  appear 
  in 
  the 
  waterfall 
  cove 
  — 
  Cooneenacartan 
  — 
  on 
  the 
  

   eastern 
  side 
  of 
  this 
  promontory. 
  The 
  red 
  beds, 
  however, 
  were 
  found 
  

   inland 
  in 
  the 
  townland 
  of 
  Ballynarrid 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  high 
  road 
  to 
  

   Bunmahon 
  (as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  number 
  ' 
  187 
  ' 
  on 
  the 
  6-inch 
  map) 
  east 
  of 
  

   the 
  Cooneenacartan 
  valley. 
  This 
  strip 
  of 
  red 
  rocks 
  appears, 
  there- 
  

   fore, 
  to 
  be 
  bounded 
  both 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  by 
  faults, 
  the 
  

   northern 
  fault 
  being 
  that 
  oblique 
  one 
  seen 
  on 
  the 
  north-eastern 
  

   side 
  of 
  Ballydouane 
  Bay, 
  and 
  the 
  southern 
  fault 
  that 
  on 
  Poola- 
  

   tunish 
  headland. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  exposure 
  of 
  red 
  beds 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  Bunmahon 
  Head. 
  They 
  

   here 
  form 
  the 
  headland 
  known 
  as 
  Kennedy's 
  Island, 
  and 
  this 
  mass 
  

   has 
  been 
  described 
  by 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Hodgson 
  Holdsworth. 
  1 
  The 
  cliffs 
  at 
  

   this 
  point 
  are 
  vertical, 
  and 
  rise 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  about 
  120 
  feet 
  ; 
  their 
  

   edge 
  exhibits 
  in 
  a 
  striking 
  manner 
  the 
  weathering 
  into 
  rectangular 
  

   blocks, 
  which 
  is 
  very 
  characteristic 
  of 
  the 
  Old 
  Eed 
  Sandstone 
  of 
  

   Ireland 
  2 
  and 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  Viewed 
  from 
  the 
  beach 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  headland, 
  the 
  

   red 
  beds 
  are 
  seen 
  to 
  form 
  the 
  whole 
  wall 
  of 
  cliffs 
  extending 
  from 
  

   the 
  extreme 
  point 
  to 
  the 
  inner 
  angle 
  of 
  the 
  bay, 
  where 
  a 
  steep 
  

   grass 
  slope 
  exists. 
  The 
  red 
  beds 
  consist 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  red 
  sandstones, 
  

   fine 
  conglomerates, 
  and 
  shales, 
  in 
  alternating 
  layers, 
  and 
  dip 
  N.N.W. 
  

   at 
  an 
  angle 
  of 
  80° 
  (see 
  fig. 
  6). 
  The 
  above-mentioned 
  grass 
  slope 
  at 
  

  

  1 
  Journ. 
  G-eol. 
  Soc. 
  Dublin, 
  vol. 
  i. 
  (1833) 
  p. 
  85. 
  

   * 
  Quart. 
  Journ. 
  Greol. 
  Soc. 
  vol. 
  xxxv. 
  (1879) 
  p. 
  719. 
  

  

  