The geomorphology of the southern and western coasts of Ireland
conforms well to the threshold geographic criteria of Article 4 (LOSC
Article 7) (see Fig. 5.7). Along 90 percent of these sections of coast,
straight baselines have been used instead of the low-water mark. With
the possible exception of segments 16-17, 33-7, and 47-50, these
baselines seem appropriate in that they follow the general direction
of the coast and appear to enclose waters which are sufficiently closely
linked to the land to be subject to the regime of internal waters, as
required by Article 4(2) (LOSC Article 7(3)). On the other hand, the
eastern coast of lreland, on the Irish Sea, is relatively smooth and lacks
offshore islands. Unlike many of the states discussed in Section C(2)
below, Ireland has not tried to use her conforming coastline in one
area to justify a comprehensive straight baseline system covering the
whole of the coast. Instead, the baseline selected for the eastern coast
returns appropriately to the low-water mark.
