Large Old Geological Map of Ireland in 1837 by Richard Griffith - Cork, Dublin, Belfast

This large-format map was created in 1837 by Richard John Griffith for the Railway Commissioners, and was originally titled A General Map of Ireland. Griffith was Ireland's foremost geological surveyor of the period, and this map represents one of the earliest attempts to record the country's underlying rock formations alongside its expanding transport network, making it a genuinely unusual and historically significant piece of cartography.

The map shows the geological strata running beneath Cork, Dublin, Belfast and Limerick, coloured in bands to distinguish one rock formation from the next, while the country's entire railway network of the period is traced across the same sheet. A detailed inset in the top right visualises the relative positions of the Mesozoic, Cenozoic and basaltic formations around Murnells Rocks, complete with its own explanatory key. County boundaries, coastlines and the four provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught are all rendered with the same careful engraved precision.

This map makes an excellent gift for a geologist, civil engineer or railway enthusiast marking a birthday, retirement or new job, as well as a distinctive corporate gift for an engineering or mining firm with Irish connections. It also suits a housewarming present for someone from Ireland with a scientific bent. The engraved linework and hand-applied colour bands have been carefully restored so the geological key and railway lines remain sharp and legible.