![Langite-tuc1035a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Langite-tuc1035a.jpg)
Allihies (; ) is a townland in the civil parish of Kilnamanagh, in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The townland of Allihies is located at the western tip of the
Beara Peninsula
Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...
.
History of copper mining
From the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
the area had been a site of copper-mining. In 1812 John Lavallin Puxley (1772-1856) established a company to operate the Berehaven copper mines at Allihies.
During the following century, between 1812 and 1912, 297,000 tons of ore were recorded as passing through the smelter at Swansea in Wales from the mines at Allihies. Drilling during this period by the Berehaven company took place throughout the townland of Allihies, and the adjacent townlands of Cloan and Kealoge.
Three ruined Cornish engine houses are visible from Allihies. The most visually prominent is the Mountain Mine man engine house, located on the skyline above the village, and installed by the noted Cornish engineers
Michael Loam and Son in 1862.
In the late nineteenth century, newly developed sources of copper ore were being worked in Africa, the Americas and Australia. A resulting fall in the worldwide price of copper led in 1884 to the closure of the mining operations at Allihies. The area saw large-scale emigration, with many of the miners finding their way to newly developing mining centres in the United States and Canada. Among these centres is Butte, Montana, where many families (Lowneys, Harringtons and others) trace their ancestry to Allihies and the Beara peninsula.
Can-Erin Mines during the 1950s and 1960s dewatered the Mountain Mine and conducted evaluation drilling, resulting in an assessment that a reopening was not economically viable, given projected operating costs and world copper prices. The company noted, however, that the Mountain Mine "has significant untested resource potential"
![Mountain Mine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Mountain_Mine.jpg)
The Mountain Mine engine house has recently (2003) undergone conservation by the
Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland
The Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland Ltd was a voluntary, not for profit organization to celebrate and promote awareness, appreciation and conservation of remains of what is arguably Ireland's oldest industry. This is an industry which commenced ...
. The completed conservation project and some of the underground mine workings were the subject of the TV documentary programme "Townlands" on
RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
in 2005.
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...
’s novel ''
Hungry Hill
Hungry Hill or Knockday ( ga, Cnoc Daod) is the highest of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula in Munster, Ireland.
Etymology
The first part of the Irish name ''Cnoc Daod'' means "hill". The second part may be a dialectal variant of ...
'' is a fictionalized saga of several generations of a mine-owning dynasty and based loosely on the history of the Puxley family.
Festivals
The annual Allihies Festival traditionally takes place on 15 August. It usually features horse racing - a practice probably dating from the time of more widespread use of horses and ponies in the copper mining industry. It takes place in a setting between the ocean and the surrounding mountains. The festivities now extend through the week and feature music, bale tossing and other events.
In 2008-9 the village also hosted the Michael Dwyer Festival of Traditional Irish music, which commemorates the life of a Beara musician and composer.
Presidential visits
In 2007 the parish was visited by the President of Ireland,
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
for the opening of the
Allihies Copper Mine Museum
The Allihies Copper Mine Museum (ACMM) is a museum dedicated to the history of copper mining in the Allihies area in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated on the Wild Atlantic Way.
History
The industrial mines in Allihies date back to 1812, whe ...
, commemorating the area's mining heritage. The museum is housed in the chapel built by Cornish miners in 1845. The veins of copper at Allihies were discovered in 1812 and worked until 1884 and many
Cornish mine captains, miners and craftsmen were employed alongside Irish people.
The village also attracted attention in June 1990 when it was chosen as one of the first places that
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
visited in her successful campaign for election as
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
.
Children of Lir legend
The mythical story ''
Children of Lir
The ''Children of Lir'' ( ga, Oidheadh chloinne Lir) is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith ...
'' is well known in Ireland, with several areas claimed as the landing spot of the swans after their 900-year journey on the seas. One version of this oral tradition holds that the children of Lir were buried in Allihies. A site associated with this tradition is located near the village.
References
External links
Allihies Copper Mines Museum web site
{{Coord, 51, 38, N, 10, 02, W, region:IE_type:city, display=title
Towns and villages in County Cork
Beara peninsula