The special landscapes of the Geopark have presented many issues and challenges for the people that have lived there, but they have also contributed to the extraordinary diversity of settlers that have called this area their home. Ranging from the very first settlers in Ireland right up to the present day, a near continuous history of settlement can be found within the Geopark, all of whom have been influenced and dependent on the wonderful natural landscapes around them.  There are spectacular remnants of these diverse settler groups scattered throughout the Geopark ranging from the Neolithic monuments or the early farmers, to the Early Christian monasteries skirted along the shores of our watercourses, to the Norman Castle of the 12th century through to the elaborate plantation Castles of the 17^th Century.