Well, for Ireland, the country is currently surrounded by extinct volcanoes. For example, there's Slieve Guillon in County Armagh, Lambay Island in Dublin, Loch Na Fooey in County Galway, and Croghan Hill in County Offaly which are all extinct volcanoes in Ireland. Given its location in the middle of the ocean on the Eurasian tectonic plate, there isn't much going on for Ireland besides the minor earthquakes. So volcanic activity isn't very common and hasn't been in awhile. In the picture below, if you know your world map well enough, you can find Ireland and see how there are no red dots anywhere near it (unlike poor Iceland).
(Ireland is north of Africa off the west coast or Europe. One of the islands west of Poland, Germany, and France. To the left of the UK.)
Although, Ireland has a rich history of volcanic activity. It dates way back, like millions of years ago, but it's still very important to how Ireland came about. Ireland, also known as the "Emerald Isle", is known for its reoccurring history of volcanic eruptions. A majority of the eruptions are said to have happened in the Ordovician age when central and western Europe were believed to have been separate from Eurasia about 430 to 480 million years ago. The volcanic activity during the Ordovician period left traces in paces like Arklow Head, County Wicklow, and parts of the coastline of Waterford. Many towns and hills are supposed remains of extinct volcanoes. The Giant Causeway in Ireland is an amazing attraction today that is evidence of ancient volcanic activity. Around 60 million years ago, volcanoes began to erupt in the center of the large continent that consisted of North America and Eurasian, causing North America and Eurasia to break apart and, therefore, forming the Atlantic Ocean (see image below).
The Giant Causeway is made up of about 40,000 basalt columns that formed because of lava pushing up through fissures in the ground. It is quite a spectacular sight and shows so much history. They are located in County Antrim off the northeast coast of Northern Ireland. It was declared a world heritage site in 1986 and a national nature reserve in 1987. It has become quite a big tourist spot to visit. I can't wait to go see it for myself! They are like nature's stepping stones.
Since Ireland has no recent volcanic activity to warn its people about, Irish scientists have been helping Iceland by monitoring the Bardarbunga which is a stratovolcano under one of Iceland's glaciers for any warning signs of eruption and also keeping the government updated and informed daily. The Geological Survey of Ireland has been putting together updates with the latest news on Bardarbunga and whether it's any closer to erupting. Ireland also helps Iceland with their volcano watch. Given what happened in April of 2010 with the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland that caused the shutdown of airspace above many European countries including Ireland, it makes sense that Ireland has joined Iceland in helping them with monitoring and warnings (128). Even though Ireland has no current volcanos erupting or active, they are staying busy and involved with other volcanoes. Given their history of so much volcanic activity, maybe, Ireland gets a break…for now anyway!
Sources:
Image 1: http://www.kidcyber.com.au/volcanoes/
Image 2: http://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/geo/geosphere/hot/volcanoes/volcanoes_b2.html
Image 3: http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/geology/gc065mya.htm
Image 4: http://www.ireland.com/en-us/amazing-places/giants-causeway/
http://www.irishcentral.com/travel/the-volcanic-island-of-ireland-the-emerald-isles-harmless-craters-125780058-237763971
http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-scientists-iceland-volcano-1633968-Aug2014/
Keller, Edward A., Duane E. DeVecchio, and Robert H. Blodget. Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Boston: Pearson, 2015. Print.
I was hoping you showed the Giant Causeway...that is on my list of places to visit soon...great post this week.
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