The Miners' Way and Historical Trail is a long-distance trail in

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 ...

. It is a long circular route that begins and ends in Arigna, County Roscommon. It is typically completed in five days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by Roscommon Integrated Development Company, Roscommon County Council,

Leitrim County Council Leitrim County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Liatroma) is the authority responsible for local government in County Leitrim, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing ...

and

Sligo County Council Sligo County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Shligigh) is the authority responsible for local government in County Sligo, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and ...

. The trail was developed to encourage tourism in the area in the wake of the closure of the Arigna mines in 1990. The route was originally conceived by a local priest, Father Sean Tynan, and built with funding from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...

. The trail was opened by broadcaster Donncha Ó Dúlaing in July 2000. The trail consists of three looped routes that travel through neighbouring parts of Counties Roscommon, Leitrim and Sligo. The Miners' Way is long and follows paths used by miners working in the Arigna coal mines and makes a circuit via

Keadue Keadue, officially Keadew (), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is on the R284 and R285 regional roads close to the borders of County Leitrim and County Sligo. Keadue is the burial place of the great Irish harper, Turlough O'Ca ...

, Ballyfarnon and Corrie Mountain. The Historical Trail is long and makes a circuit of Lough Key and

Lough Arrow Lough Arrow () is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. This large, scenic lake covers an area of and lies mostly in County Sligo with a smaller part in County Roscommon. It is a popular trout fishing lake. Geography Lough Arrow lies m ...

via Keadue,

Lough Key Forest Park Lough Key Forest Park is an 800-hectare park on the southern shore of Lough Key, 40 km south east of Sligo Town and 3 km east of Boyle, County Roscommon, in the Republic of Ireland. Formerly part of the Rockingham Estate laid out ...

, Boyle, Carrowkeel,

Castlebaldwin Castlebaldwin or Bellanagarrigeeny () is a townland and small village in County Sligo, Ireland. The castle outside the village of Castlebaldwin is a fortified 17th-century house rather than a medieval castle, with gun slits in the walls and a ...

, Highwood and Ballyfarnon. A third trail makes a circuit of

Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains, ...

via

Drumkeeran Drumkeeran () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland located at the junction of the R280 and R200 roads. It is situated in drumlin hills at the foot of Corry Mountain, just north of Lough Allen. History Throughout at least the 19th and 20th ...

Dowra Dowra () is a village and townland in northwest County Cavan, Ireland. Located in a valley on Lough Allen, it is the first village on, and marks the most uppermost navigable point of, the River Shannon. On one side of its bridge is County Cavan ...

and

Drumshanbo Drumshanbo (, ridge of the old huts) is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a wel ...

. Parts of the Miners' Way and Historical Trail also form part of the

Beara-Breifne Way The Beara-Breifne Way is a long-distance walking and cycling trail being developed from the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland, to Blacklion in the area of Breifne in County Cavan. The trail follows closely the line of the historical march ...

, a walking and cycling route under development, intended to run from 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 ...

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 a ...

to Breifne,

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

following the line of

Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, Prince of Beare, 1st Count of Berehaven ( ga, Domhnall Cam Ó Súileabháin Bhéara) (1561–1618), was an Irish nobleman and soldier who was the last independent Chief of the Name of the O'Sullivan clan. He was thus ...

's march in the aftermath of the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

in 1602.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Miners' Way and Historical Trail
a
IrishTrails.ie

Miners Way and Historical Trail - Route Map and Guide
a
ActiveMe.ie
{{coord missing, Ireland Geography of County Roscommon Geography of County Leitrim Geography of County Sligo Tourist attractions in County Roscommon Tourist attractions in County Leitrim Tourist attractions in County Sligo Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland