Having finished our project a few days earlier than expected we were left with a some time around the cottage to get office work done and enjoy the countryside.
A lot of this time was spent drawing up neat versions of our field slips and finalising faults/boundaries. The geology of our area is frustratingly confusing and more than a few mental breakdowns have been had around trying to figure out how any of this is geologically possible. I have come to the conclusion that I need to do some more reading about the area and maybe it will become clear. I haver a couple of working hypotheses but some of them are extremely far fetched and my knowledge of the geological history of the west of Ireland (mountain building and subsequent metamorphosis during the closure of Iapetus Ocean followed by sedimentary deposition in shallow oceans) doesn't fit with the normal fault models that are my leading explanation. It could however, still be possible that subsequent extension or relaxing took place and observations made in the field such as the orientation of conjugate fractures and microscale normal faults can be used to back up my ideas so overall I'm not too worried.
There has also been time for some non-rock related activities in our final days which has been lovely. We went up to a view point about a 10 minute walk from the cottage which over looks Lough Na Fooey and did some water colour paintings of the view. Artistic talent has never been my strong point but I think there is a possibility that the 5 weeks of field sketches I have been doing may have paid off?
My attempt at water colour painting the view, was a lovely way to spend the afternoon
I've also made the most of some iconic scenery with some runs around where we are staying. I'm not exactly a great fan of running and never go any further than 5km but the views around Lough Na Fooey are stunning and make it somewhat more enjoyable. Now I'm no longer spending 7 or so hours hiking everyday, its nice to have the energy to actually go on a run. The weather this week has also been great (typical just as we finish field work the sun comes out) so I've enjoyed some afternoons in the garden doing handstands and generally being outside.
With a lot of data (strikes, dips, grid references etc) to input into spreadsheets we decided to head into Cong (the nearest village) and have a working lunch/coffee at a cute little coffee shop on the main street. The weather was beautiful and we sat outside in glorious sun (even reaching tanning potential of UV 5) and set to work on our spreadsheets. Moving inside to eat, due an abundance of wasps, we had some delicious sandwiches, finished inputting the data and had a wander around the village. Its a very quaint little place which fun fact is surrounded by rivers on all four sides so is technically an island. How exciting. I got myself a little cuddly sheep as a well done for finishing (name pending) but is he not the cutest thing ever?
We also started trying to teach ourselves how to use QGIS. This is the software we use to digitise our maps and through a combination of YouTube, trial and error, and asking Catherine for help, I have begun to put things together. This is will save a lot of time once term starts if I get it done over the holidays so I'm glad to have got that started.
One evening we decided to venture out of the cottage to the local (well 15 minute drive away) pub. I am aware it is a bit shocking that we have been in Ireland for 5 weeks and not yet visited a pub, but believe me we have been far too exhausted up until now. Anyway, the pub was so sweet, served amazing guiness (does in fact taste better in Ireland) and we sat outside watching the sun set over the lough before heading in for some darts, cards and general pub chat. A lovely evening indeed.
The other really cool thing about the pub was the abundance of geological maps on the wall. Finny (the village we are staying in) is part of the Joyce's Country Geopark region which, right now as we are here in Ireland, is being assessed for UNESCO Geopark status. The pub owner, along with most of the locals we have chatted to, know a great deal about the geology of the region and are happy to chat about what they know. The maps on the wall were amazing and the pub was even selling copies of a very recently (2021) published text book/field guide that covered all of our mapping areas. After returning to the pub for a second night in a row, the owner kindly gifted us each a copy of this field guide which was incredibly generous of him and safe to say we were very thankful. This was a wonderful find and will be very useful for our write ups. If anyone finds themselves in the area of Joyces Country/Finny make sure to pop in to the Larches pub (@any future geologists on their mapping projects).
Enjoying an evening at the pub
The next day we decided it was finally time for a swim in Lough Na Fooey. We had scouted out a beach to the North East of the lough and, despite the drizzle and general coldness, we set off for a quick dip. The beach was lovely soft sand, the water was cold but so clear and even though I lost the ability to feel my legs due to the cold it was really lovely. We stayed for about half an hour or so before heading home to warm up.
A chilly dip in Lough Na Fooey
During our stay in Ireland we have met a bunch of people, who have all been very lovely. Usually, this is either because we are interested in the rocks on their land so have to ask permission to enter their fields or they are farmers/walkers we see out and about. Aria and Lauren came across one particularly welcoming French woman named Catherine who lived in a beautiful house overlooking Lough Mask. After meeting her once to ask for permission to access the land she then invited them over for tea and apple crumble to chat to them about the area, the geology and how she came to be living in Ireland. To say thank you for her hospitality we all popped over today to bring her some flowers and so the rest of us could meet her. She kindly welcomed us all into her house with tea and biscuits. We spent about an hour chatting to her and her son about how they come over form Paris to Galway each summer to live by the Lough due to her late husbands love of fishing. Her willingness to get to know us was amazing and we had a lovely afternoon before heading home to finish up our packing.
Overall, this trip to Ireland has been long but an incredible experience that has taught me so much, and not just about geology. I have come home with a map of an area I am very proud of, the ability to cook a bunch of new dishes, a new found courage for driving on country roads, as well as a set of best friends. I would not have wanted to do this trip with any other people and I'm so thankful to have these girls in my year to make this project as great as it has been. Special shout out to Catherine for putting up with me for 6 weeks straight, being a fantastic navigator and all round good vibes in the field.
Time to finally head back to the UK, relax a bit, enjoy the sun and begin the project write up...
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