Dalkey Quarry

Dalkey Quarry is located 14 km South East of Dublin city centre on the coast of the Irish Sea. Dalkey Quarry used to be used for extracting granite for building in the 19^th century, quarrying started in 1815 and the rock was used to build the still standing Dún Laoghaire. Now Dalkey is most famous for being one of the most famous crags in Ireland.

Geology

Dalkey Hill is made of granite and so the quarry makes for great climbing, like in Yosemite the rock here is hard and durable. It is good for placing your cams and other such gear. The rock here would have cooled from molten rock under the earth’s surface, allowing large crystals to form, as opposed to above where is would cool quickly and result in small crystals such as in basalt.

 The Climbing

Climbing in the quarry started in 1942 when the first climbs were recorded, many of the routes done then are still challenging climbers today. Since then the quarry has undergone a real spring clean and now there are over 300 climbs (as listed in the current guidebook). Climbs are nearly all single-pitch and range from 10-35 meters. The grades allow for nearly all levels and go up to E7 (6b equivalent). Nearly all the climbs follow cracks up the cliffs.

There are lots of videos on YouTube and Vimeo of Dalkey so check them out! (but the quality of them aren't great!)

 Sources 

http://www.alpinesports.ie/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/a/dalkey.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalkey_Quarry

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~moroneyk/Images-Large/61427.jpg