Geoparks Ireland Forum
Geoparks Ireland Committee
The Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI) wish to contribute to the future development of Geoparks as a major tourism resource in Ireland and Northern Ireland. To this end, they have jointly established the ‘Geoparks Ireland Committee’ as an all-island committee which will apply the highest standards of geoscience in assisting stakeholders to build the Geoparks brand throughout the island of Ireland. Committee Terms of Reference (PDF 19Kb)

Geoparks Ireland Forum
One of the Geoparks Ireland Committee actions was to set up a Geoparks Ireland Forum to inform and guide stakeholders and provide networking opportunities. Membership is open to any body or group, including both community based and local authority organizations, seeking to develop or already operating a Geopark, and whether or not it is already designated as a European and/or Global Geopark. Stakeholders are likely to include existing and prospective Geoparks, local authorities, the Heritage Council, the Environment and Heritage Service, Tourism Ireland Ltd., universities and regional and local tourism bodies.

Geoparks Ireland Forum - 1st meeting, 19th February 2008, GSI Dublin

All documents below are available for download as PDF files.

Agenda (26Kb)

Presentations:
- Copper Coast (1.6Mb)
- Marble Arch Caves (14.9Mb)
- Burren - Cliffs of Moher (2.5Mb)
- Cooley - Mourne - Gullion (4Mb)
- Kerry community (1.3Mb), geology (2.3Mb)

Notes of the Discussion (23Kb)

Geoparks Ireland Forum - 2nd meeting, 28th October 2008, Marble Arch Caves, Co. Fermanagh

All documents below are available for download as PDF files.

Agenda (27Kb)

Presentations:
- Marble Arch Caves (9.8Mb)
- Copper Coast (2.3Mb)
- Burren - Cliffs of Moher (3.2Mb)
- Cooley - Mourne - Gullion (657Kb)
- Kerry (no presentation available)

Geoparks Ireland Forum - 3rd meeting, 20th-21st October 2009, Ennistymon, Co. Clare

Agenda (99Kb)

Presentations:
- Burren/Cliffs of Moher (5Mb)
- The Joyce Country part 1(2.7Mb), part 2 (1.4Mb)
- Mourne-Cooley-Gullion (no presentation available)
- Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark (3.9Mb)
- Copper Coast Global Geopark, an update (5.5Mb) and activities (2.8Mb)
- UNESCO Global Network of National Geoparks (1Mb)

Notes of the discussion (129 Kb).


Geoparks Ireland Forum - 4th meeting, 26th-27th October 2010, Joyce Country, Clonbur, Co. Galway.

Agenda (122Kb)

Presentations:
- The Joyce Country, one year later (1.7Mb), NUI Galway contribution (2.7Mb)
- The Burren and Cliffs of Moher: an overview of the 2010 application to the European Geoparks Network (2.8Mb)
- The Geological Heritage of the East Border Region (5.5Mb)
- Kerry Geopark, an update (298Kb)
- Copper Coast Geopark Past & Future (15.3Mb), Activities 2010 (3.7Mb)
- Marble Arch Caves Events (1.7Mb), Education (3.5Mb), Recreation (7.9Mb)
- Global Geoparks Network, 2010 Update (3Mb)

Geoparks Ireland Forum - 5th meeting, 13th-14th October 2011, Copper Coast Geopark, Co. Waterford.

Agenda (99Kb)

Presentations:
- The Copper Coast Global Geopark, part 1 (2.3Mb), part 2 (4.1Mb)
- The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Global Geopark (3.3Mb)
- The Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark (7.6Mb)
- The Joyce Country Aspiring Geopark : an update (2.1Mb)
- The Causeway Coast and Glens: geodiversity strategy and interpretation (4.3Mb)
- The Gullion-Cooley-Mourne region: from magma to monuments (4.6Mb)
- The Kerry Aspiring Geopark: an update (1.5Mb)
- The Global Network of National Geoparks: an update (1.9Mb)


Contact: if you are interested in joining the forum or attending the next meeting, please contact Sarah Gatley, sarah.gatley@gsi.ie, 01-678 2837.

Coming up events of interest to Geoparks Ireland Forum members and interested parties in tourism development:

28th March 2012: EURES Tourism Conference, Dundalk, Co. Louth. See programme:
http://www.dundalk.ie/attachments/article/601/Toursim%20Confrence%202012.pdf

19th-21st September 2012: Annual European Geoparks Network Conference. It will take place this year in Arouca Geopark, Portugal. For details and programme, see: http://www.2012egnconference.com/