Allihies Copper Mine Museum

Copper was mined at Allihies from 1812, when the Puxley family opened works on ground that had been worked for copper in the Bronze Age, and at its height around sixteen hundred people worked the mines - in a place that now has a village of a few dozen. Cornish miners were brought in for their expertise and the engine houses on the hillsides are Cornish in design; the ruined Man Engine house above the village is the landmark. Conditions were severe and child labour was normal. Mining declined after the Famine and finally ended in 1962, and many of the miners went to Butte, Montana, where they and their descendants made up a substantial part of the copper workforce; the connection between the two places is still maintained. The museum occupies a deconsecrated Methodist church built for the Cornish miners, and a waymarked trail runs from it up to the engine houses and the spoil beaches. Shafts on the hillside are unfenced in places.

History

The industrial mines were opened by John Puxley in 1812 and at their peak in 1845 employed around 1,600 people; they suffered with the area in the Famine and finally closed in 1962. The museum, in a Methodist church of 1845, was opened by President Mary McAleese on 13 September 2007 after ten years of work by the Allihies Mines Co-op (Wikipedia, Allihies Copper Mine Museum).

What to look for

• The engine houses - Cornish-designed ruins on the hillsides above the village.
• The Butte connection - miners who left here for Montana's copper.
• The Methodist church - built for the Cornish workforce, now the museum.
• The mine trail - waymarked from the village up through the workings.

When to go

April to October; the museum is seasonal and Beara is a long drive from anywhere. The trail is exposed and boggy in wet weather.

Things to know

Seasonal opening only. Old shafts on the hillside are a genuine hazard - keep to the marked trail. Allihies is remote with very limited services. The museum itself is small.

Nearby

Dursey Island and its cable car are west; Castletownbere and the Healy Pass are east.

Key facts