Pollatoomary
Flooded cave in Ireland
Pollatoomary is the deepest explored underwater cave in Ireland . It has been explored to an underwater depth of 113 metres (371 ft) . [1] [2] The explored limit of Pollatoomary is also 23 metres (75 ft) deeper underwater than that of the terminal sump in Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset , England , which previously held the record for the deepest underwater cave in Britain and Ireland. [1] [3]
Location
The cave is located in the Partry Mountains in the townland of Bellaburke near Killavally , Westport , County Mayo , where the Aille River reemerges, having gone underground at Aille caves some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) away. The cave entrance is on privately owned farmland.
Exploration
J. C. Coleman 's 1965 compendium, The Caves of Ireland , states: "Pollatoomary Rising ... thought to be the rising of the Aille water. The water rises through fissures in the limestone." [4]
The cave was first explored in 1978 by cave diver Martyn Farr , who dived it to a depth of 33 metres (108 ft) . At the time, this made it the deepest known sump in Ireland, and by 1985 it still held second place. [5]
30 years after Farr's first exploration, one of his students, [3] Artur Kozłowski , began to concentrate his efforts on the cave. In May 2008 Kozłowski explored Pollatoomary to an underwater depth of 86 metres (282 ft) , [6] then on 5–6 July 2008, he reached 103 metres (338 ft) underwater. [7] [8] This made it the deepest sump in Ireland by far, and additionally it surpassed the British cave diving depth record. [3]
Pollatoomary was entered again on 9 June 2018 by Michał Marek , who explored the cave to 113 metres (371 ft) underwater. [2]
References
- 1 2 "Polak zginął podczas nurkowania w Irlandii" . wbi.onet.pl (in Polish). 16 May 2019 . Retrieved 18 May 2019 .
- 1 2 Kluj, Magdalena (October 2019). Barrie, Peter; Kennedy, Alasdair (eds.). "Obituary: Michał Marek". Irish Speleology . Speleological Union of Ireland . 24 : 73-74. ISSN 0332-4907 .
- 1 2 3 Siggins, Lorna (7 September 2011). " 'There is no rescue - only recovery, if you're lucky' " . Irish Times . Retrieved 27 June 2012 .
- ↑ Coleman, J. C. (1965). The Caves of Ireland . Tralee, Co. Kerry: Anvil Press.
- ↑ Jones, Gareth Ll. (1985). Burns, Gabriel (ed.). "Top Pots and Rave Caves". Irish Speleology . Speleological Union of Ireland . 3 (2): 9.
- ↑ Siggins, Lorna (7 August 2008). "Cave explorer plumbs new depths in Mayo" . Irish Times . Retrieved 12 November 2020 .
- ↑ Kozłowski, Artur (2009). "Dark Rising: the exploration of an underground river in County Mayo, Ireland". Irish Speleology . Speleological Union of Ireland . 18 : 69–70. ISSN 0332-4907 .
- ↑ Gallagher, Emer (16 July 2008). "Explorer plunges to new depths in Mayo" . The Mayo News . Archived from the original on 7 December 2013 . Retrieved 21 September 2011 .
53°46′36″N 9°22′23″W / 53.776695°N 9.372953°W / 53.776695; -9.372953
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