Ireland’s fifth UNESCO Geopark is named

Joyce Country and Western Lakes has been awarded UNESCO Global Geopark status, marking a major milestone for the region spanning north Galway and south Mayo.

The decision, made at the 10th UNESCO Geoparks Council meeting in Temuco, Chile, on 5 September, will be formally ratified by UNESCO’s Executive Board in Paris in the spring of 2026. The new Geopark brings the total number of UNESCO Geoparks on the island of Ireland to five.

The project began in the early 2000s as a voluntary local initiative to boost tourism by highlighting the area’s geology, landscape, and cultural traditions. Its ambitions expanded in 2019 with €1.19 million in funding from the Rural and Regional Development Funds and closer collaboration with Údarás na Gaeltachta, Geological Survey Ireland, and Galway and Mayo County Councils. Structured local support and the employment of project officers have helped develop the initiative into a full UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Joyce Country and Western Lakes Geopark offers visitors and locals a window on the area’s 700-million-year geological history. It provides an exceptional cross-section of the Grampian-Taconic orogeny, the mountain-building event more than 400 million years ago that shaped the closing of the Iapetus Ocean and the formation of the Caledonian and Appalachian mountains. The site is now recognised as a location of global significance for teaching and research.

Koen Verbruggen, Director of Geological Survey Ireland, welcomed the announcement. He said the survey had worked closely with the local team for many years, particularly since 2019 with support from Project Ireland 2040. He congratulated the people of Joyce Country and Western Lakes and the key partners involved, describing the achievement as an important milestone for the area.

UNESCO Global Geopark designation does not impose additional planning regulations. Instead, it recognises areas of international geological significance managed through a bottom-up approach that combines conservation, education, and sustainable development with strong local community involvement. There are currently 229 UNESCO Global Geoparks across 50 countries.

The Geological Survey of Ireland, the country’s national earth science agency, supports the protection and promotion of sites of geological importance through its Geoheritage Programme. The organisation works with local authorities and community groups to develop geotourism projects and to establish and support UNESCO Global Geoparks.