Today, the Rathluirc Irregular gave me the low down on a geological phenomenon known as the Iapetus Suture. Not to be confused with a fault line, it marks where two continents collided a few million years ago (give or take). The local variant stretches from the South West of Ireland up through Northern Ireland and Scotland. Apparently, it is often associated with mining activity.
He also went to great pains to explain that this is the reason why Cork people are so different from the rest of their countrymen. Although they reside on the same superficial land mass, they are effectively on a different continent.
And there was me thinking it was down to "superior" DNA!