Abstract The sediments of the Moyvoughly Beds within the Moyvoughly-Moate area of the Irish Midlands comprise ooid grainstones, skeletal ooid grainstones, and marine sandstones, punctuated by rarer calcareous mudstones. These sediments were deposited in agitated environments on a gently sloping south- or southeast-facing ramp. Core investigations and construction of isopach maps have shown changes of thicknesses within individual sedimentary units across known faults. These are interpreted as the result of synsedimentary faulting during sediment deposition. Changes in sediment lithologies can be related both to relative changes in sea level plus faulting activity, with the sandstones being sourced from erosion of local, active, fault-bounded highs. Relative sea-level highs are characterized by calcareous mudstones, with periods of lower sea level being characterized by grainstones or sandstones dependent on local siliciclastic sourcing. No major sequence breaks have been recognized with the Moyvoughly Beds. However, a regional change in sedimentation occurs at the base of the Moyvoughly Beds, where corals colonized the lithified surface of the underlying Micrite Unit. These lower sediments were deposited in a shallow lagoon, with periodic marsh progradation and subsequent exposure with paleosol formation. The Micrite Unit can be traced across the Irish Midlands and, although no regional detailed studies have yet been carried out, appears to be of similar lithologies throughout. In contrast, units within the Moyvoughly Beds, although correlatable within the area studied, cannot be traced to other areas, and their characteristics are more controlled by local tectonic movements.

Abstract South of the platform carbonate successions of South Central Ireland (Chapter 22), the South Munster Basin of southern Ireland (Fig. 61) is dominated by deeper-water terrigenous sedimentary rocks comparable to those present in the Culm Basin of SW England (Chapter 4). The basin is divided into a western Bantry Sub-basin and eastern Kinsale Sub-basin, separated by the Glandore High upon which an extremely attenuated succession developed (Naylor et al . 1989). The evolution of the South Munster Basin was affected by four distinct phases (Naylor et al . 1989). During the Late Devonian to early Courceyan, subsidence rates in both sub-basins were rapid and associated with deposition of relatively shallow-marine sand and mud. During the Courceyan there was a reduction in both in?ux of sand and rates of basin subsidence, but with a net deepening of the basin. During the late Courceyan to Brigantian the basin became starved of sediment. During the Namurian, a renewed influx of sand caused basin infilling. The Tournaisian and Visean succession consists of a single Cork Group, which in the Kinsale Sub-basin comprises four formations: Castle Slate Formation at the base, followed by the Kinsale, Courtmacsherry and Lispatrick formations of Courceyan-Brigantian age. In the Bantry Sub-basin the Castle Slate and Kinsale formations are overlain by the Reenydonagan Formation of Courceyan to Arundian age.

Abstract During the 19th century studies of ostracods of the British Carboniferous were promoted by the extraction of coal, iron and other minerals. As described in more detail later, this was a period of great activity resulting in numerous publications concerned with ostracod taxonomy but few with stratigraphic applications. Despite renewed economic importance of the Carboniferous in the latter part of the 20th century resulting from the exploration for oil and gas, further publication on British Carboniferous ostracod faunas was rather limited as the biostratigraphic application of other groups (miospores, foraminifera and conodonts) gained precedence. Compared to some other Periods, ostracods have consequently played a fairly insignificant role in industrial biostratigraphy in the Carboniferous. The most significant work towards the end on the century was by Robinson (1978 a ) , in a forerunner to this publication. That account stands out as a work of importance in our understanding of British Carboniferous ostracod faunas. In the present chapter we have drawn heavily upon Robinson's work but expanded its scope by including entomozoids from the Courceyan marine basin facies and Westphalian species from non-marine deposits and marine bands. We hope, therefore, the result will be a useful synthesis of our knowledge of British Carboniferous ostracods as it stands at the beginning of the 21st century, even though there is still considerable scope for future work in the fields of taxonomy, palaeoecology and stratigraphy.

Abstract DISTRIBUTION AND AGE OF UPPER PALEOZOIC VOLCANIC ROCKS Volcanic rocks of Upper Paleozoic age are widespread throughout Europe, where they range from alkaline basalts through arc-type calc-alkaline basalts and andesites, to ophiolites and to acid ignimbrites. In Ireland and the UK, volcanic rocks consist of mildly alkaline basalts and their derivatives. The two greatest thicknesses of volcanic rocks occur in the Midland Valley of Scotland and in the Limerick Syncline, Ireland. In Ireland, Lower Carboniferous volcanic rocks are found on the margins of both the Shannon Trough (Strogen, 1988) and the Dublin Basin. Coarse volcanic breccias, in most cases occupying vents, are found scattered across the Irish Midlands e.g., Croghan Hill, southeast of Lough Ennell and near Edenderry (the last two known from boreholes; Fig. 1). Float of similar breccias is found widely within areas of Courceyan rocks e.g. around Moate (Strogen, 1974a). Thin ash-fall tuffs occur across the west Midlands (Fig. 1). and intrusive, tuffisites are also common

Abstract Introduction The Lisheen deposit, County Tipperary, Ireland is a stratiform Zn-Pb deposit hosted in dolomitized Waulsortian limestone of Courceyan age. Lisheen is situated 130km southwest of Dublin and 10km northeast of Thurles, the nearest town (Fig. 1). Lisheen was discovered in April 1990 and the current resource is estimated to be 22.2Mt at 11.5% Zn, 1.9% Pb and 16% Fe, with 26 g/t Ag. The deposit is located close to the southeastern edge of the Rathdowney Trend, a 40km long northeast-southwest trending belt of carbonate rocks extending from Abbeyleix in County Laois to Thurles in County Tipperary (Fig. 1). A number of base metal deposits and sub-economic occurrences are hosted in the Lower Carboniferous limestones of the Rathdowney Trend. The Lisheen deposit lies southwest of the Galmoy deposit (Doyle et al. 1992). The Lisheen deposit is similar to the Silvermines zinc-lead deposit (10.7 Mt at 7.36% Zn and 2.70% Pb). Base metal mineralization at Lisheen occurs principally in the hangingwall rocks of the Killoran and Derryville faults (Fig. 3). These east-west trending normal faults, with maximum displacements of approximately 200m, formpart of amajor 40km long relay fault system which extends along the Rathdowney Trend. The deposit consists of three principal zones of mineralization, the Main, Derryville and North zones. Mineralization extends 2km along the strike length of the fault system and approximately 1.5km to the north, in the hangingwall. Mineralization occurs as a series of massive to semi-massive stratiform sulfide lenses, as irregular zones of breccia/vein style sulphides and as