2.5M Donegal earthquake was the joint largest Irish seismic event on record

A 2.5-magnitude earthquake in the Derryveagh mountains – the joint largest onshore earthquake ever recorded in Ireland – was felt in Buncrana and Desertegney at the weekend.
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The tremor was registered throughout County Donegal with some residents reporting that the earthquake shook their homes when it occurred at a depth of approximately 10 kilometres at 12.30am near Glenveagh National Park on Saturday.

The Irish National Seismic Network (INSN) operated by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) said it had received reports that the event was felt throughout the Donegal area and was recorded by seismic stations operated by the DIAS in Mayo, Tipperary, Louth, Galway, Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Wexford.

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The earthquake was also detected by several Raspberry Shake seismometers operated in Ireland by citizens and schools in Antrim, Sligo and Dublin.

The earthquake occurred 10 kilometres beneath Glenveagh.The earthquake occurred 10 kilometres beneath Glenveagh.
The earthquake occurred 10 kilometres beneath Glenveagh.

DIAS received felt event reports from all over Donegal including at Buncrana and Desertegney in Inishowen.

The earthquake is the joint largest onshore earthquake ever detected by the INSN, according to a catalogue of seismic events that dates back to 1980. An earthquake of magnitude 2.5 was also recorded in Donegal on January 26, 2012.

Larger seismic events have been recorded offshore by the INSN.

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Donegal struck by earthquake close to border with Northern Ireland
A map showing locations where the earthquake was felt.A map showing locations where the earthquake was felt.
A map showing locations where the earthquake was felt.
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The Derryveaghs are located on one of the major fault lines in Ireland and Donegal is the most seismically active region of the country.

Derry and Lough Foyle are located on another of the major Irish fault lines.

Saturday morning’s quake followed a magnitude three earthquake in the Rockall Plateau in the North Atlantic, approximately 600km northwest of Donegal, on March 4, 2023.

While earthquakes in the Rockall Trough are regularly detected by the INSN, only one previous event has been detected from the Rockall Plateau – a M3.5 earthquake from January 10, 2016.

Red lines showing some of the main Irish fault lines.Red lines showing some of the main Irish fault lines.
Red lines showing some of the main Irish fault lines.
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As the nearest land-based seismometers are 500km from the Rockall Plateau, only larger magnitude (M2.5+) events are expected to be detected from this region. Earthquakes with magnitudes up to M4 are known to occur in the Rockall Trough.

Earthquakes measuring between 2 and 2.9 on the Richter scale can be felt slightly by some people but no damage to buildings are expected to occur.

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