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Hands holding Carboniferous Ammonite fossil

Ireland's Fossil Heritage


Pictured: Carboniferous Ammonite


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Streedagh strand, Co. Sligo - a fossil-rich coastal beach

Finding fossils in the field


Pictured: Fossil-rich rocks at Streedagh strand, Co. Sligo


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420 million year old trilobite fossil in rock

Irish Fossils


Pictured: 420 million-year-old Trilobite fossil from Co. Kerry


Irish Fossils

Connect to Ireland’s ancient past through our rich fossil heritage.

 

Ireland’s landscape is made up of rocks that were formed over hundreds of millions of years in lots of different environments including warm tropical seas, hot arid deserts, and even volcanoes! Some of these rocks contain fossils, which are the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Ireland’s fossil heritage spans over 500 million years of Earth history and includes some of the earliest evidence for fossil animals and for life on land. There are even Irish dinosaurs!

Ireland's Fossil Heritage

School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, T23 TK30,

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