South Munster Basin

South of the platform carbonate successions of South Central Ireland (Chapter 22), the South Munster Basin of southern Ireland (Fig. 23.1) is dominated by deeper water terrigenous sedimentary rocks comparable to those present in the Culm Basin of southwest 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 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 influx 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 resulted in the filling of the basin.