| Title | Author | Pages | Abs | |
| Editorial | Joseph Brady | 1-5 |  |
 |
| Our first sixty years- one editor remembers | Gordon Herries Davies | 6-14 | |
|
| Geography in Ireland in transition | Rob Kitchin | 15-19 | |
|
| A summer outbreak of whirlwind phenomena from Dublin Bay to the Shannon Estuary | John Tyrrell | 20-36 | |
|
| Windows on a hidden world: urban and social evolution as seen from the mews | Ruth McManus | 37-59 | |
|
| Limits of Midlandian glaciation in south-eastern Ireland | Susan Hegarty | 60-76 | |
|
| Relict rock glaciers, slope failure deposits, or polygenetic features? A re-assessment of some Donegal debris landforms | Peter Wilson | 77-87 | |
|
| Contours of colonialism: Gaelic Ireland and the early colonial subject | John Morrissey | 88-102 | |
|
| Labouring towards the space to belong: place and identity in Northern Ireland | Bryonie Reid | 103-113 | |
|
| Reviews | 114-116 | |||
| Erratum and Special Offer | 117-118 | |
Editorial
Joseph Brady
Hon. Editor
Department of Geography, University College Dublin
It is now sixty years since the Geographical Society of Ireland produced Bulletin No.1, later renumbered as Volume 1, part 1 of Irish Geography. The editor takes the opportunity in this short piece to reflect on the past, comment on the present and to pose some questions for the future
Our first sixty years - one editor remembers
Gordon Herries Davies
Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin
2004 sees the sixtieth anniversary of Irish Geography. A former Editor of the journal here remembers some of the events associated with the journal’s earlier years.
Geography in Ireland in transition
Top of Page
Rob Kitchin
Director of NIRSA, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Jasper Knight
Top of Page
A summer outbreak of whirlwind phenomena from Dublin Bay to the Shannon Estuary
John Tyrrell
Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Cork
The conditions giving rise to a series of whirlwind phenomena that occurred across Ireland on 16-17 August 2001 are examined. Surface and upper air data, together with indices derived from upper air soundings (CAPE and LIFT) are used to analyse the roles of wind shear, instability and vertical moisture boundaries. While these showed some moderate wind shear, the potential instability was quite weak and vertical moisture contrasts were not strong. Despite this, one tornado, up to three waterspouts, two funnel clouds and an eddy whirlwind were reported over little more than a twenty four hour period. It is demonstrated that the most significant condition associated with their formation was probably vertical wind shear, in a weakly unstable, moist atmosphere..
Windows on a hidden world: urban and social evolution as seen from the mews
Ruth McManus
St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra
The world of the mews, former stable lanes, is a unique environment hidden behind the bustling thoroughfares of the city. In looking at the evolution of mews over the past centuries, it is possible to identify elements of continuity and change in the urban landscape and its social structure. This paper explores the nature and origin of mews, their physical and social characteristics and evolution over time, as well as the unique planning issues which they face. Mixed land use and varied architectural styles give rise to a wealth of interesting juxtapositions within mews, but current planning guidelines are likely to have a major impact in homogenising their character and function. While the focus is on Dublin, comparisons are made with London's mews. These hidden back streets have always been ambiguous spaces which have taken on renewed importance in the context of urban densification strategies..
Limits of Midlandian glaciation in south-eastern Ireland
Susan Hegarty
Department of Geography, University College Dublin
The Southern Irish End Moraine (SIEM) was, for many years, an accepted feature of the geomorphological assemblage of Ireland. This is despite the lack of mapping of the 'End Moraine' over large areas. This paper presents evidence from County Kilkenny, an area that the SIEM cuts across from east to west. It attempts to trace this feature on the landscape through mapping using both field observations and a detailed digital elevation model. Where possible, it also looks at the sedimentology of the feature Charlesworth (1928) originally described. Following detailed mapping, no evidence for this feature on the landscape is found. Evidence for the reinterpretation of some of the features that formed part of the original 'SIEM' is also presented..
Relict rock glaciers, slope failure deposits, or polygenetic features? A re-assessment of some Donegal debris landforms
Peter Wilson
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster at Coleraine
Large-scale debris landforms on the quartzite mountains of north-west Donegal were previously interpreted by the author as relict protalus rock glaciers and protalus ramparts. Re-assessment of these features and their adjacent terrain indicates that slope failures may have supplied much, if not all, of the debris. Implications arising from this recognition that other processes were involved in landform development are discussed and consideration is given to resolving the issue..
Contours of colonialism: Gaelic Ireland and the early colonial subject
John Morrissey
Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Galway
The sixteenth century is critical to our reading of Ireland’s subsequent colonial and indeed postcolonial geographies, yet has frequently evaded considered scrutiny for a variety of reasons, including the deficiencies of the evidence. Eschewing assumptions of colonialism as a ‘given’ and informed by postcolonial perspectives in geography and related disciplines, this paper interrogates the initial contours of English colonial endeavours in one region of Ireland from the beginnings of renewed Crown interest in the mid-sixteenth century. Using the example of the O’Dwyer family of Kilnamanagh in County Tipperary, the paper explores the interconnections as well as the conflicts of the worlds of the colonial ‘newcomers’ and Gaelic ‘natives’, and demonstrates how colonial discourses of civility, reform and the barbarous ‘Other’ were transcended on the ground by a complex set of locally dependent variables. Support is offered for the notion that expediency and survival were the fundamental imperatives of both the New English administration and Gaelic responses, and, by highlighting the absence of any consistent colonial relations, the discussion points to the contradictory and mutually constitutive nature of English and Gaelic worlds, co-existing by the end of the sixteenth century.
Labouring towards the space to belong: place and identity in Northern Ireland
Bryonie Reid
Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages, University of Ulster
The concept of belonging in place acquires particular intricacy in the context of Northern Ireland, where strong territorial imperatives come into intimate conflict. This paper aims to unfold some of the complexities of imagining the province as a place, and the difficulties involved in claiming belonging there, drawing attention to the apparently ongoing refusal to share the ownership of spaces. Theories attempting to resolve this conflict from cultural and political perspectives will be examined, in addition to looking at practices at various levels of community which evidence different understandings of place and belonging. Some aspire to revision of established myths, others aspire to operate beneath or beyond these myths, and each are successful to varying degrees. The intention is not to suggest that these practices are a solution to Northern Ireland’s sectarian geography, but rather to recognise that despite the predominantly defensive attitudes to place and belonging, fallible but important efforts are being made to revise or open out this thinking.