Atlas of Irish Agriculture - Soils

As the largest county, Cork has a diverse landscape that results in the occurrence of a wide variety of soils. The south of the county is characterised by sandstone bedrock and towards the west, around Bandon and beyond, this gives rise to Brown Podzolic soils which are slightly acidic and free draining in nature. To the east and northeast of the county towards Fermoy, the landscape can be described as undulating lowlands typified by Brown Earth soils. In the northwest, around Newmarket, Surface-water Gley soils dominate on undulating shale bedrock with peaty topsoils found on the flatter ground. In mountainous areas, such as in the south-west, that stretch down to the Beara, Sheep’s Head and Mizen peninsulas the presence of upland blanket peat is common.

Overall, the most prevalent soil in the county is the Typical Brown Podzolic soil accounting for one-third of soils found in County Cork. One of the best known Brown Podzolic soils is the ‘Rosscarbery series’. This soil was first named by the original An Foras Talúntais soil survey of West Cork in 1963, after the townland of Rosscarbery, indicating the original location where this soil type would have been classified

Unsurprisingly, the Rosscarbery series can be found extensively in West Cork.

While farming in many parts of Ireland can be difficult, this is certainly true in Leitrim where a majority of the landscape is made up of drumlins that form part of the north-west drumlin belt. Drumlins formed when unsorted glacial drift was deposited as the ice retreated at the end of the various ice ages. Here, the drumlin topography is generally associated with heavy-textured soils such as Surface-water Gleys (with a slowly permeable sub-surface layer) occurring in glacial drift deposits. 

Between the drumlins, basin peat is a common feature. The wet climate and the poorly draining soils result in a relatively short grazing season and issues of poaching (surface damage), which together mean that farming can be unforgiving in this part of the country.

As well as the drumlins, there are pockets of blanket peat found here located to the east, west and south of Manorhamilton, in border locations to the east and to the west of Lough Allen. To the south of Mohill, the presence of a lowland raised bog with some industrial peat can be found.

Poor drainage is a major soil problem in County Leitrim. Surface-water Gleys and Humic Surface-water Gleys dominate the landscape. ‘Gleys’ are soils that are affected by seasonal or continuous waterlogging giving rise to a greyish colour. Surface-water Gleys form due to a slowly permeable sub-surface layer associated with a heavy textured sub-soil resulting in poor drainage giving rise to seasonal waterlogging. The high clay content means that these soils are considered heavy from a farming perspective and have more limited agricultural uses although some may benefit from artificial drainage. 

The third most commonly found soil types are Alluvial soils. These soils form in the deposits of river or lake alluvium. These soils can be found along rivers such as the Shannon and lakes including Lough Allen . The use range of these soils can be limited due to the potential for regular flooding and high water-tables but they can be fertile soils for agriculture if water levels can be managed.