In Irish Blue Limestone, Ireland is truly blessed with one of the most beautiful and durable of natural stones. Cities all over Europe, and beyond, are choosing it for civic projects large and small, and they are doing so for very good reasons.
Often, the most important factor is financial. No city planner wants to find that the chosen material for a project shows signs of wear and damage within a short time of completion, and Irish Blue Limestone treated properly, will last for a hundred years or more. Even when it has to be replaced, it can be reclaimed and reused in a wide variety of applications. Furthermore, because it is so easy to work, labour costs in the project are reduced.
Throughout Ireland, beautiful and ancient buildings are enhanced by indigenous blue limestone. It has lasted for centuries, and it has played its part in Ireland’s architectural and cultural history. Quarried in Kilkenny and Carlow, initially by laborious hand chiselling, today by the most modern computerised machinery, blue limestone is prized for its beauty, and for the range of finishes that can be applied to it. When polished, it achieves a depth of colour that is almost unique; chiselled, hammered or flamed, it retains its beauty while offering the safe, non-slip surface demanded for paving and kerbs in public spaces.
Environmental impact is of increasing importance to councils, architects and designers. Numerous studies have proved that natural stone has a smaller carbon footprint than its manufactured counterparts, and, with a groundswell of public opinion rising against climate change, this is something that policy makers cannot afford to ignore. Transport also carries an environmental cost as well as a financial one, but Ireland has the great good fortune of having the best in her own land.