A dramatic cutting through limestone on the M9 Motorway near the Kings River-photo courtesy of Dr. Matthew Parkes, National Museum of Ireland
A dramatic cutting through limestone on the M9 Motorway near the Kings River-photo courtesy of Dr. Matthew Parkes, National Museum of Ireland

Geological Heritage

County Kilkenny has a rich geological heritage, and Kilkenny City is known as “The Marble City” due to the ‘black marble’, or limestone, quarried locally. There are 25 County Geological Sites in Co. Kilkenny – sites of geological and geomorphological interest, ranging from Castlecomer coal mines to Limestone quarries and  Dunmore caves.

The Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council commissioned the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) to identify and map sites of county geological interest in Kilkenny in 2007. The audit was updated in 2012.

GSI 2007 – Kilkenny

Geological Heritage of Kilkenny, 2007
Geological Heritage of Kilkenny, 2012

To read the County Geological site reports

For a brief introduction to the geology of County Kilkenny (by the geoschols initiative with the GSI) suitable for schools, click here