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Bunmahon (), also called Bonmahon, is a coastal village in
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of 
County Waterford
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
, Ireland, at the mouth of the River Mahon
River Mahon ( ga, an Mhachain) flows from the Comeragh Mountains in County Waterford, Ireland.
Course
Falling down the 80-metre Mahon Falls and proceeding past a hawthorn "Fairy Tree", identified by ribbons tied to its branches (the tree was c ...
. During the 19th century, when copper mines operated in the area, Bonmahon was a mining village. As of the 21st century, the village and its beach lie on a tourist route.
History
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Ogham stone
Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...
and ringfort
Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...
sites in the surrounding townlands of Ballynagigla and Knockmahon.
Bonmahon was a mining village for much of the 19th century, and copper and lead was mined here between 1827 and 1877. Much of the village was laid-out in this period, and the local Church of Ireland church was built in the 1820s. A temperance hall was built in the village in 1842, and this was converted during the 1850s to become St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. The population of the village swelled to over 2,000 at that time. The village was home to a pawn shop, a creamery and a bacon factory, as well as 21 public houses.
The history and mining activity of this period is covered in ''The Making and Breaking of a Mining Community'', published in 2006. One of the mine workers was Thomas Wheatley, whose son John Wheatley
John Wheatley (19 May 1869 – 12 May 1930) was a Scottish socialist politician. He was a prominent figure of the Red Clydeside era.
Early life and career
Wheatley was born to Thomas and Johanna Wheatley in Bonmahon, County Waterford, Ire ...
later went on to be Minister for Health for the first Labour Party (UK) government in 1924.
Places of interest
Bunmahon lies within a UNESCO Global Geopark. TheCopper Coast Geopark
The Copper Coast Geopark is a designated area comprising a stretch of the southern coast of Ireland in County Waterford, extending for some 25 km of coastline from Kilfarrasy in the east to Stradbally in the west. It was the first geopark to b ...
operates a visitor centre in the village's former Church of Ireland church. The Copper Coast is home to several beaches and wildlife, including foxes, rabbits, and diverse bird species.
The local beach is used by surfers use all year round, and a surfing school runs in the summer months. The village's Tidy Towns committee has created a boardwalk along the sand dunes, as well as working to improve access to the neighbouring cove of Tra na mBó. The beach and surrounding coast is covered by the Bonmahon Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.
See also
* List of towns and villages in IrelandReferences
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Waterford Beaches of County Waterford