The ‘Domain of the Dinosaurs’ exhibition opens at the Glucksman Gallery in University College Cork (UCC) on Saturday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will formally open the exhibition whose centrepiece will be skeleton casts of Megalosaurus and Scelidosaurus, the only known dinosaurs from the island of Ireland.
Bones from both dinosaurs were discovered in the 1980s by the late Roger Byrne, a schoolteacher and fossil collector, on a beach in Antrim.
Both bones were found by Mr Byrne while he was walking along the beach near The Gobbins, on the east coast of Islandmagee in Antrim.
The bones were found loose among the shingle and boulders on the beach.
Mr Byrne found the Scelidosaurus bone in January 1980 and the theropod bone in February 1981, and donated both bones to the National Museum of Northern Ireland.
‘Domain of the Dinosaurs’ features almost 300 real fossil specimens and incorporates five newly commissioned artworks from contemporary Irish artists that provide a creative response to key Irish fossils and current research on dinosaurs by palaeontologists at UCC.
The exhibition features a number of zones including feoil, coillte and farraige.
Feoil or the carnivore zone features a full-sized 3D skeletal cast of the theropod dinosaur Megalosaurus.
This large, eight metre long dinosaur was an apex predator with adaptations for ambush-style attack.
Coillte or the herbivore zone shows full-sized 3D skeletal casts of two herbivorous dinosaurs – the armored dinosaur Scelidosaurus, plus the large bulky Iguanodon.
The Domain of the Dinosaurs exhibition opens at the Glucksman Gallery in University College Cork (UCC). Photo: Clare Keogh
These dinosaurs are surrounded by 45 fossil specimens of other ancient herbivores, their food plants and details of the world in which they existed.
Farraige or the marine zone centres around two life-size 3D skeletal casts of the predatory marine reptiles Ichythyosaurus and Plesiosaurus.
Each of these are around three metres long and they are suspended dramatically in mid-air to replicate their swimming posture.
UCC President Prof John Halloran said it is a fascinating display.
“This exciting exhibition brings together cutting-edge science, research and creative arts, breaking new ground in the intersection between science and the creative arts and reshaping the communication of the past through engagement and creative arts,” Professor Halloran said.
Prof Maria McNamara said the exhibit is particularly fascinating in an Irish context.
“Fossils are a hugely important link to our ancient past. They provide direct evidence for how life on planet Earth has adapted to shifts in climate and environmental conditions over geological time,” she said.
Prof Fiona Kearney, Director of the Glucksman Gallery, urged people to avail of the unique exhibition.
“It is thrilling to see these ancient creatures in the gallery, presented alongside the creative perspectives provided by contemporary artists,” she said.
“We cannot wait to welcome visitors to explore art and science in the Glucksman.”
The exhibit will fully open to the public from November 29 and will run until April 12.
Rocks from the age of the dinosaurs – the Mesozoic – are extremely rare and almost all of the Irish Mesozoic rocks occur in Northern Ireland and are covered by basalt – the rock that forms the Giant’s Causeway.
One of Ireland’s most famous fossil sites is the Valentia Tetrapod Trackway, on Valentia Island in Kerry.