
Southern Irish Caves -
Underlying most of Southern Ireland are huge
beds of Carboniferous Limestone. The structure of the limestone
beds is rather like a huge saucer with the edges at the coast
being those places where the limestone is exposed and caves
can be found. One of the most spectacular areas of limestone
exposure is the Burren, on the west coast of Eire, in County
Clare. Here there are vast tracts of bare eroded limestone.
There are few rivers above ground and those that do appear
often disappear and reappear along their course, the water
flowing underground in huge conduits to resurge at springs
on the edge of Galway Bay. Cave divers are
slowly exploring these underground water courses as well as
cave systems on the coast formed in the geological past and
now inundated by the sea.
There are many cave systems accessible to the
'dry' caver including Pollnagollum, the longest system in
Ireland comprising several entrances and many kilometres of
passage. Another extraordinary system, the Doolin-Fisherstreet
system, has a traverse between two entrances to a point not
far from its rising under the sea. At one point it runs under
a stream flowing on the surface which partially empties its
waters through the roof of the cave!
Visitors to the Burren can get a glimpse of
the underground world by visiting Ailwee
Cave, which lies in the centre of the Burren. Afficonados
of the TV comedy series Father Ted may like to know that much
of it was filmed in this area with one episode filmed in the
cave.
The caves are characteristics by long winding
narrow streampassages often beautifully decorated with stalactite
formations. The walls are carved by the stream into fine scallops.
Potholes are relatively unusual although they do exist, such
as in the system of Poll na gCeim (Cave of the Steps) that
descends in a series of deep shafts. Exploration continues
to this day. Much of it has been by members of the University
of Bristol Speleological Society who have been active in the
region for 50 years. They have published an interesting guide
book to the caves of this region called Caves of County Clare
and South Galway (ISBN 0-9545850-0-3). it's obtainable from
their website which also
has links for accomodation at the coastal village of Doolin
on the edge of the Burren.
Further south in County Kerry is another fine
system, Crag Cave,
near the town of Castleisland. It is now open to the public
after discoveries made by welsh cave diver Martyn Farr in
1983. The cave runs under the drive to the land owner's house
and an entrance could be fortuitously excavated in a field
next to the drive! The author managed to make a minor discovery
with his friend Ted Popham in the same system in 1984, although
the trip was rather exciting due to problems with lights!
Coolagh River Cave
This system is very prone to flooding to the
roof in heavy rain! Anybody who has visited the cave will
be impressed by this knowledge in view of the size of the
stream passages.

tTypical cascade in Coolagh River
Cave |

Peter Glanvill in a Plunge Pool |

Main Stream Passage |

'Guiness froth' from a recent flood |
St. Catherine's to Fisherstreet Pot
(the Doolin system)
| 
The Smithy |

the Smithy |

Main Passage |

Main Passage |

The Aille Cascade (Angie
Glanvill) |
|
Pollballiny
This system has the reputation of being arduous.
The entrance lies in a row of shakeholes, along the west side
of Knockauns Mountain, the points of engulfment for water
running off impervious shale onto the limestone. The long
narrow winding passage (over a kilometre in length) used to
end in a boulder choke but a team from UBSS used a car jack
to pass this and shortly after one the biggest cave passages
in the region was entered. Unfortunately it becomes blocked
by a gigantic choke of boulders extending the full 25 metre
height of the passage. The stream has found a new route but
it is too small to negotiate. One theory has it that this
vast tunnel is just an inlet to an even large cave system
yet to be discovered!

Just before the first choke |

Stalactite formations |

A climb into the main passage |

The big rift |

The final pitch |

Near the final boulder choke |
|