The Burren: All you need to know

The Burren UNESCO Global Geopark

The Burren map

The Burren National Park is one of six National Parks in Ireland and is the smallest in size at 1,500 hectares. The region spans the area of land between north Clare and south Galway villages of Ballyvaughan, Corofin, Gort, Kinvara, Kilfenora, Lisdoonvarna.and Tubber. The area is identified in geological terms as a “karstic plateau”, that is, a massive series of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as “grikes”, leaving isolated rocks called “clints” over vast areas of land.

Oliver Cromwell’s lieutenant-general of horse and second-in-command in Ireland, Edmund Ludlow described the Burren as “a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him.” And all of this exposed topography looks like a great stony chaos to you or I, but its value lies in its unique geology, and in the vast array of flowering plants and wildlife which thrive in its many fissures.

The Burren is very old

Much of its rock forms were established as sediments in a tropical sea some 350 million years ago, and its strata show generous signs of fossil, coral, crinoids, sea urchin, and ammonites. But the Burren, as we see it today, is actually relatively young in geological terms, having been scraped clean of all topsoil in the last Ice Age, just 10,000 years ago. The region encompasses a massive 360 km2 of gently inclined plateau with a further 200 km2 of lowland to the east. The Aran Islands were originally part of the Burren and share similar landscapes but when sea levels rose towards the end of the last Ice Age (circa 10,000 years ago) the three Aran Islands were formed.

Unique landscape

And each and every one of the Burren’s many of limestone slabs has a second miniature landscape etched into its gnarled upper surface. These bare surfaces (pavements) are fretted with hollows and channels which were formed over thousands of years by acidic rainwater selectively eating into the rock. Often described as an evolving landscape, the Burren has been profoundly influenced by human activity. Early removal of natural woodland induced soil erosion across the area, exaggerating the exposure of the underlying limestone.

Exceptional flora and fauna

More than 700 different flowering plants and ferns have been recorded in the Burren, and enthusiasts of horticulture come from all over the world to see them. And there they lie nestled in the fissures between the great stones and boulders, migrants from the Arctic north, and wanderers from the temperate equator regions too. Examples of the richness of the Burren habitat is evidenced by the fact that 30 of Ireland’s 32 butterfly species have been recorded in the Burren and 71 of the 72 land snail species. There are also an estimated 1,000 feral goats in the Burren hills, one of the largest populations in Europe.

Sensitive environment

The Burren may look rugged, but it is a fragile ecoculture, and is always under threat from increased activity by humans. Respecting and conserving this resource is extremely important. To this end there is a “Burren Code” and, by following it, you can help protect this extraordinary limestone pavement, and the many plants which survive in its fissures.

To help preserve and protect the region The Burren National Park together with the Cliffs of Moher received UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2011. This is the third region on the Island of Ireland to receive the Global Geoparks status with the other two places being Copper Coast in Waterford and the Marble Arch Caves in Cavan and Fermanagh.

Tour the Burren

The Burren Map