​Beggars Bush has been the address of Geological Survey Ireland since the Survey moved in to its purpose-built location in the early 1980s. Known to geologists throughout the world, to Irish geologists and geology students in Ireland, and to the interested public, the address has been associated with generations of maps, technical reports, and data sets. It has been home to the staff of Geological Survey Ireland and the walls are infused with the stories of fieldwork and sample collection, and discussions on the tectonic evolution of Ireland. As a place of deposit for the National Archive, Beggars Bush has been the safe home of the original geological maps of Ireland, the records of the early years of the Survey, and a large part of the Du Noyer art collection. Beggars Bush is where Geological Survey Ireland made huge changes in how and where it maps and collects data. It saw the introduction of digital map production using GIS, the initiation of the world class Irish National Seabed Survey and now INFOMAR seabed mapping projects, the use of aircraft-mounted geophysical equipment to map the whole of Ireland again as part of the Tellus project, and the expansion of the Groundwater programme.

Almost 100 years after the British Army marched out of Beggars Bush Barracks for the last time in the early days of 1922, the staff of Geological Survey Ireland said goodbye to our offices there. The building is to be refurbished by the OPW and become the new head office of our parent Department, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Due to COVID-19, many of us had not been working in the building since March 2020, and apart from occasional visits to sort files and pack, we are used to working elsewhere. Our rocks, samples, files, offices and data servers have been carefully packed and moved in preparation for our bright new future.

The main new office will be Booterstown Hall, Booterstown, Dublin. Most administration, management, geologists, cartographers and project staff will be based there in airy, light-flooded, temperature-controlled offices overlooking Dublin Bay. Laboratories, equipment, file storage, the National Archive, and the Customer Centre will move to a newly fitted out facility in City West in mid-January.

As we look to the future of Geological Survey Ireland, we are conscious that our work is part of the future of Ireland and its place in the globe. Our work is part of how we meet the challenges of climate change and the necessity to manage natural resources to meet the essentials needs of society. Our maps and data are freely available to all and in 2022 we hope to launch the National Geoscience Data Centre. We are committed to furthering the understanding of the subsurface for the management of water, geothermal, and mineral resources, as well as understanding the geology, geochemistry, and geoheritage of Ireland. We are excited about starting the new chapter in what is now the 177 year history of the Geological Survey in Ireland.

New Address:

Geological Survey Ireland

Dept. of the Environment, Climate and Communications

Block 1

Booterstown Hall

Booterstown

Blackrock

Co Dublin

A94 N2R6