Morriscastle Beach
In addition to being a popular seaside destination for holidaymakers and day-trippers, Morriscastle is an area of considerable environmental interest because of the wealth of natural heritage resource values that exist in its environs.
The Morriscastle area is located in the South-east Lowlands of Ireland. These lowlands fringe the Leinster Axis, the 110km-long chain of granite mountains that stretch from Dublin to Waterford. However, the Morriscastle area is not underlain with granite. The local rock type is grey-green Cahore Group greywacke. Greywacke, a German word, describes a rock formed of unsorted sediment particles cemented together. The muddy sediments that formed the Cahore Group greywackes were laid down on the floor of the Iapetus Ocean during the Cambrian Period some 550 million years ago. Loose stones of these rocks may be found on the beaches around Morriscastle but the rock type is best examined at the outcropping bedrock exposed at Cahore Point 6km to the north.
While the foundation of the Morriscastle area is some 550 million years old, the events that shaped the landscape we see today all occurred less than 80,000 years ago. These earth-moving events occurred during a stage of the last Ice Age, known as the Midlandian Main Phase. At that time, an ice lobe of a glacier moving southwards down the basin of the Irish Sea pushed on-shore at Morriscastle and extended inland for several kilometres. The moving ice carried ashore sands, silts and muds from the basin of the Irish Sea. When the glacier melted the marine deposits left behind by the meltwater became the parent material of the soils that we see in the area today. "Heavy", muddy soils developed under conditions of waterlogging and form a distinctive, poorly drained soil series known as the Macamore. With careful management the Macamore soils produce high yields of good quality grass and are suitable for dairying and livestock raising. The prevalence of managed grasslands is a noteworthy feature of the Morriscastle area.
When the ice melted the sea level rose due to the greatly increased volume of water available. Rising sea level eroded the soft glacial deposits and created tall soft cliffs. These cliffs are still eroding and fresh exposures show that in places the cliffs are composed of stony unsorted sediments called till, while in other places they consist of layers of blue-grey muds or beds of fine, soft sand. Huge mounds of glacial sands exist to the south. When driving in the area, the presence of these mounds is indicated by the way the public road winds around them or undulates up and over them. Where coast erosion is active to the north and south of Morriscastle, shoreline recession averages some 0.9m per annum. Some eroded material is being deposited in the vicinity of Morriscastle resulting in an average accretion rate of 1.5m per annum. Wind and waves work and rework the eroded glacial materials to produce the area's soft cliffs, sand dunes and beaches of fine golden sand.
In general, coastal land level tends to rise to a height of about 15m to the south of Morriscastle and to fall to just below sea level to the north of the holiday resort. It follows that the beach narrows to the south and the Morriscastle - Tinnaberna sand dunes are pinched out in the diminishing space available. To the north of Morriscastle the line of sand dunes forms a barrier across the low-lying land, on the one hand keeping the sea from flooding the land but, on the other hand, impeding land drainage and creating the wetland at Ballyteige Marsh. Farther north, the wetland is drained by a system of canals running to the sea at Cahore and the marshlands have been reclaimed to create farmland at the Cahore Polders.
The Morriscastle-Tinnaberna sandhills support dune habitat types annexed in the EU Habitats Directive and are a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (Site Code: 001741). The site name was formally transmitted to the European Commission in August 1998 for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The site extends for almost 4km from south of Morriscastle to Ballynamona. At its southern end, at Ballynamona, steep cliffs back the beach. North of Tinnaberna a series of gently undulating fixed dunes rich in species extends to a width of some 150m. In places the dunes are clothed in Sea Buckthorn, a prickly invasive shrub. The site supports a number of rare plants such as Night-flowering Catchfly Silene noctiflora and Moore's Horsetail Equisetum x moorei.
Ballyteige Marsh is a proposed Natural Heritage Area (NHA) (Site Code: 001930). Located 1km north of Morriscastle, the site is a fine example of coastal brackish marsh and it supports a diverse wetland flora.
Cahore Polders, 3-5km north of Morriscastle, are a proposed Natural Heritage Area (NHA) (Site Code: 000700) because of the wild birds they support. The polders and adjoining marshes are also an Important Bird Area (IBA) qualifying them for classification as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the Birds Directive. The area is an important feeding site for waterbirds in winter. Significant species include Greenland White-fronted Geese and Golden Plover together with lesser numbers of Bewick's Swans, Whooper Swans, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard and Lapwing.
In the immediate vicinity of Morriscastle the hummocky sand hills support Sea Buckthorn, Marram, Bracken, Hawkweed, Portland Spurge, Bramble, New Zealand Flax, Wild Carrot and several mosses. Oyster shells may be found on the beach and gulls and other seabirds may be seen passing by close to the shore.
The Morriscastle area supports wonderful natural heritage amenities, a Quality Beach and "The Golden Mile" stretch of Wexford County Council's Coastal Path. Please follow the Country Code and support the efforts being made to maintain and preserve these excellent amenities.
