A new study led by the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University has reconstructed a century of sea-level change around Ireland, revealing a stark acceleration in sea-level rise.
The research titled 'A Century of Sea-Level Change in Ireland (1925–2024)' and published in Ocean Science combines tide-gauge records from six locations, including newly digitised historical records from Cork, Kerry and Galway.
The research was undertaken by the ICARUS team including lead author Dr Patrick McLoughlin, principle investigator Dr Gerard McCarthy, Lionel Swan and Dr Catherine O'Beirne, who recovered, digitised and analysed historical records to reconstruct a century of sea-level change around Ireland. Researchers from the Marine Institute, University of Limerick, University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin also contributed to the study.
The study uses measurements dating to 1925 and provides the most comprehensive picture yet of a century of relative sea-level change around Ireland. Current rates of sea level rise around Ireland are the highest in 100 years. The results show that Ireland is not escaping sea levels that are rising globally due to man-made climate change.
Although the acceleration is widespread, the century-long record also shows important differences between locations. Between 1925 and 2024, the lowest long-term modelled rate was recorded at Belfast, Co Antrim while the highest was at Tarbert, Co Kerry. The differences underline the need to account for local and regional conditions, including vertical land movement, environmental factors and measurement effects.
The study also compares Irish sea level change with global sea-level datasets. From the 1990s, the Irish reconstruction follows an upward trajectory to the global record. The recent acceleration around Ireland is consistent with wider global sea-level trends.
The study’s century-long perspective is a key strength. Digitising observations previously held on paper records enables researchers to examine the timescales needed to understand long-term coastal change.
The findings show that sea-level rise around Ireland has accelerated since 2000, with current rates several times the average for most of the twentieth century.
For Ireland’s coastal communities, infrastructure providers and planning authorities, understanding this changing rate is important to assessing future coastal risk and adaptation needs.