Field Trips 2020 (Kiltorcan Quarry & Gold panning in Knocksink Wood

Field Trip to Kiltorcan Quarry, Co. Kilkenny

Following a successful excursion to this quarry in 2018, the IGA returned there in September 2020, but this time with the number of participants limited to 15, due to the Covid-19 restrictions. It was greatly appreciated by those lucky enough to be able to take part.

The trip was led by Maria Cullen, who explained that this low sandstone ridge dates from the Devonian period. The quarry is owned by the O’Neill family of Ballyhale, Co. Kilkenny. The stone is rather brittle, but comes in different colours and is mainly used as ornamental dressing for parks and gardens. It contains some interesting plant fossils, as well as beautiful manganese dentrites, created by bacterial action.

The quarry is in a very scenic location, offering panoramic views of the

Report & photos by M. Franklin

Above: Part of the quarry at Kiltorcan

Left: Maria Cullen, explaining the origin of the sandstone at Kiltorcan

Right: An example of manganese dendrites, found in the quarry

Below, members of the group searching for fossils, while enjoying the beautiful views.

Peter Lewis Memorial Gold Panning Trip to the Glencullen River,

Knocksink, Co. Dublin, with Frank Clissmann (IGA) - 12th September 2020.

Report and photos by Michèle Castiaux.

As always, the sun shone for the Peter Lewis Memorial Gold Panning event. This year, Frank Clissmann (IGA committee) had kindly agreed to organise and lead the trip and he was perfect for the job!

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we had to limit the group size to 15, even though this is usually our most popular event.

Above: Michele trying her hand at gold panning

We gathered on that Sunday morning around 10am, as Knocksink is a popular walking spot and parking places are limited, as we quickly found out! It is however an ideal spot for gold panning as the river at that location is low and wide and only a short easy walk from the car park. Frank had brought all the gold panning equipment, generously lent to us by the Geological Survey Ireland.

Afterwards, we all found a spot and tried to find gold with our gold pans. As we were practising, Frank found a comfortable place from where he could demonstrate to each family group how to find gold with a real piece of gold that he dropped in the pan! See lower picture on the right: This was my first time seeing it so clearly (the piece of gold was larger than what we usually find) and it was a demonstration that I will always remember. Later on, we had lunch then we continued to look for gold for quite some time. Around 2pm, some participants started to leave and, even though the Belton family would have stayed until daylight was gone, we had to resign ourselves to go home empty handed. We did however all enjoy a beautiful day and although we did not find gold, we all enjoyed the thrill of the search and caught a touch of gold fever. See

photo on the left.

Many thanks to Frank for his patience and generosity, many thanks to the GSI and Park Ranger Andrea Webb (NPWS) for their support.

Once we all reached the Glencullen river, we spread out around Frank, who gave us a demonstration of his gold panning technique.

I couldn’t help but notice that it was slightly different from the technique shown to us by our previous gold panning expert, Gerry Stanley, which shows that every specialist has their own “tips and tricks”!

Frank in action