Tir fo Thoinn / Joe's Cave
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There's an article in Irish Speleology no14 from May 1991 by Fintan Convery from University College Galway "Locating marine caves using Geophysical VLF-EM Method" Without getting into details that short article described research which was carried out as part of an M.Sc. in Applied Geopphysics and it used Marmaid's Hole as a test site. The idea was not as much to map the cave but to see if the cave could be mapped from the surface. Results were compared with cave diver's survey and were close enough. But what was really interesting was author's note about potential extensive system at the mid point of Boodaun, 150m north of Mermaid's Hole. According to author's research there should be substantial passage striking inland for at least 125m. I looked at the map in "Caves of co. Clare and South Galway" and the only thing down there was Joe's Cave, described as not explored. I found it very strange - not explored? That was hard to believed. With all that effort put to explore Reef Caves, Hell Complex and even Urchin Cave located much further to the north, what would be the reason that site with such theoretical potential hasn't beeen explored? Unless VLF-EM was wrong and there was nothing interesting there....But soon I realised that there might be one more possible answer.According to the map entrance to Joe's Cave was at the north end of Boodaun Bay in the area of very turbulent sea, with very violent surf and surge always present. Sea around Hell or even Mermaid can be calm but Boodaun is always hot spot.
Boodaun Bay. Entrance to Joe's Cave is situated in the area of violent surf.
17.09.2008
Diver: Artur Kozlowski
I approached the point carefully, trying to stay away from areas where water was turned into the liquid foam. This section of the coast is very complex underwater with huge boulders, ledges and all that is disguised with thick kelp. I was about giving up when suddenly I spotted some dark opening just below me and when I directed beam of my torch in there it disappeared in darkness. I started squeezing in, fighting with the surge at the same time. Once down there i found myself in bedding plane cave entrance. I left both Alu cylinders in entrance chamber and proceeded with two 12l steels. It's a big cave but you need to be sidemounted - some places are quite low. I have passed two big junctions and big bedding plane chamber perhaps 15x15m from which 0.5m low but 5-6m wide passage extending NE inland. Whole cave is taming with marine life, in many places you have to literally relocate sea urchins to make the way on. Apart of them hundreds of black-and-yellows ea cucumbers and tens of thousands of anemones of all sorts. Magical place. There are at least three entrances to the system and I think there is fourth one as well ( I've seen some light in distance). I called the place Tir fo Thoinn - Land beneath the waves.
Entrance chamber
In the afternoon I came back there but I must have cut my wrist seal during descent to Hell's Kitchen as my drysuit started filling with water quickly. I proceeded but that wasn't great dive. I followed main passage NE. As I said it's 5-6m wide but only 0.5 low after adding another 20m of line and stopped as I didn't feel comfortable to do that in flooded drysuit but passage keeps going. I returned to last junction and went opposite direction until I got to another junction and another passage going NE, similar to first one but only 3m wide and even lower. It keeps going as well. In total I left 120m of line in cave.
21.09.2008
Diver: Artur Kozlowski
Another 30m of progress in the main passage. It's heading NE and then E, but is extremely low with floor covered with compacted cobbles. AGAIN I cut my wrist seal during descent through Hell's Kitchen and by the time I got to Joe's Cave I was completely flooded.
