The geopark began as a mid-2000s project of Clare County Council and the local community, the "Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative", which was funded and supported by the council, Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Development, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Burrenbeo Trust.

The geopark won the National Geographic World Legacy Award for Destination Leadership in 2016.

[5] The Burren comprises dramatic glaciated karst landscapes on Ireland’s Atlantic coast which have been fashioned in a variety of limestones, sandstones and siltstones originating during the Carboniferous period.

The nearby Cliffs of Moher are vertical sandstone and shale sea-cliffs, the highest in Europe, which rise to a height of over 200m in places and which have long drawn sightseers to the area.

Population centres include Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan, Kilfenora, Doolin, Lahinch, Ennistymon, Fanore and Kilshanny.