Valentia Slate has become the second Irish stone to be awarded the status of "International Union of Geological Sciences Heritage Stone".
Valentia Slate is a natural stone which has been used since at least 1816.
Its new status is awarded only to stones that have a long history of significant use and which are still available for conservation purposes. It joins Connemara Marble as only two Irish stones currently with this designation.
Valentia Slate is extracted underground on Valentia Island in Co Kerry in the same facility that was opened by Peter Fitzgerald, the Knight of Kerry, in 1816.
The company operates a zero-waste policy in extracting slate for a wide variety of purposes including flooring, roofing slates, kitchen countertops and funerary headstones. It has been used in many landmark buildings internationally, including the floors and roofs of the House of Commons in London.
The application for the global designation was led by Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson and Dr Louise Caulfield of Stonebuilt Ireland at Trinity College Dublin, both experts on Irish building stones and marbles and by Carrig Conservation Consultants, led by Peter Cox FRSA.
Aidan Forde, owner of Valentia Slate Company, said the recognition is also of the expert and hard-working staff of Valentia Slate who have made the company what it is today.
"This award is recognition, not only of their own efforts in keeping Valentia Slate available for use in sustainable construction, but also the work of the many generations of South Kerry people who worked at the quarry," he added.
Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson noted that Valentia Slate is a unique stone type that only occurs in Co Kerry.
He said its characteristics allowed it to be split into roofing slates but also large slabs and it was utilised for a wide variety of domestic and commercial applications.
"Amongst the more unusual uses were for headstones, garden benches, billiard tables, water tanks, and walling for bonded warehouses," he added.
Buildings are major emitters of greenhouse gases, but natural stone is a very low-carbon building material and Valentia Slate has become part of a modern trend to use more natural stone and timber in architecture as it is better for the climate.
