Historic Schools Atlas Launched at INTO Conference in Galway

A new schools atlas featuring, for the first time in the history of the State, a detailed map of Ireland’s 220 million acre seabed territory was launched today (Tuesday 6th April) at the INTO conference in Galway. The Folens/Phillips New Irish Primary Atlas features “The Real Map of Ireland”, the results of detailed seabed mapping undertaken by the Marine Institute, the Geological Survey of Ireland and partners to accurately chart Ireland’s territorial seas. The map was made using cutting edge acoustic and laser technology from a variety of research vessels, survey ships and airborne platforms.  

“The Real Map of Ireland showing Ireland's marine territory is generating great interest,” said Noreen Sheehan, Sales and Marketing Director for Folens, “and this adds a new and vital dimension to the new schools Atlas. Many teachers are taking printed copies of The Real Map of Ireland from our stand and we look forward to seeing this interest reflected in take-up of the new publication by schools.”  

The Real Map of Ireland already forms the foundation of a number of primary school lesson plans available for download free of charge from the Marine Institute’s website at www.marine.ie. These lesson plans, which are linked to the SESE primary curriculum, open the world of Ireland’s oceans and seas to teachers as cross-curricular examples in subjects including Art, Geography, History, Science and Environmental studies.  

“The oceans cover seventy percent of our Earth’s surface, play a primary role in the generation of the world’s weather and are therefore vital to the survival of life on this planet,” said Marine Institute Chief Executive Dr. Peter Heffernan. “Those facts, combined with Ireland’s geographic position as an island close to the Atlantic Drift currents and the contributions made by famous Irish marine figures such as John Phillip Holland, Francis Beaufort, Tom Crean and Admiral William Browne, make The Real Map of Ireland an essential teaching aid for schools who wish to give a complete picture of the geography, science and history of this country.”  

Copies of the Folens/Phillips New Irish Primary Atlas (ISBN 978-1-84741-598-1) are available from local school bookshops and regular suppliers.