Irish Marble Quarry

The joyce name was to become synonymous with connemara marble supplying world famous buildings with the ireland s iconic marble.

Irish marble quarry.

The first and main source was the black quarry in the townlands of archersgrove and gallowshill just south of kilkenny. Its use in jewellery can be regarded as one of ireland s indigenous industries and the quarrying of connemara marble is a centuries old endeavour. It was opened in 1822 by the joyce family. The black marble quarry at anglingham was discovered and exploited by stanley ireland in the early 1800s.

Streamstown marble quarry letternoosh clifden co. Connemara marble is the standout irish geological and gem material and is therefore recognised as the iconic stone of ireland. Located just outside the historic marble city of kilkenny. A wide range of connemara marble gifts are available there.

I bought some connemara marble pieces when i was first in ireland more than 40 years ago and they are still lovely. The joyce family owns a connemara marble quarry in recess. Annual extraction rate of 25 000m gross block production hub for irish blue limestone slabs and paving for irish and european markets. Kilkenny marble or kilkenny black marble is a fine grained very dark grey carboniferous limestone found around county kilkenny in ireland in the butlersgrove formation a lower carboniferous limestone that contains fossils of brachiopods gastropods crinoids and corals.

So when offered a chance to visit the actual factory i jumped at it. Stone age man worked the marble from this deposit 4000 years ago and axes made of connemara marble are in the collection of the national museum of ireland. He established a marble yard in the town of galway and employed several workmen who wrought monuments chimney pieces tablets slabs etc advertised his product in newspapers and exported the stone to various irish and british markets. Their factory is based in the village on the n59 between clifden and galway where joyce s craft shop and art gallery can also be found right across the road from the connemara giant monument.

As natural products they are prone to variations in colour texture shade and veining that may differ from the samples shown. Connemara marble is over 900 million years old and is unique to ireland. This quarry is the oldest and most famous of the connemara marble quarries opened commercially in 1822. Sandstone travertine slate limestone and granite are products of nature and have been quarried from all over the world.

One of the finest examples of connemara marble in ireland forms. The streamstown marble quarry.