The most productive copper mine in Ireland

The stunning village of Allihies is located at the end of the Beara Peninsula. There is evidence of mining in this area that dates back to the Bronze Age, but modern mining, began in 1812 when the local landlord John L Puxley formed the Allihies Mining Company. Cornish miners were brought over to Allihies for their expertise in sinking shafts and local men worked the mine, while women and children were employed to sort the ore by hand before it was shipped to Swansea in Wales. At its peak in 1835, the Allihies Mining Company employed 1,600 people. To reach the copper ore deposits, a shaft was sunk using hand drills and gunpowder. The miners would then blast horizontal tunnels trying to find the ore deposits. The broken ore was lifted and water was pumped out from the bottom of the shaft, which was getting deeper and deeper as new tunnels were driven into the copper vein. By the late 1800s, a worldwide downturn in the price of copper saw profits in the Allihies mines severely decline and, when the Puxley family eventually sold the mine, the effect on the local area was devastating. The mined-out cavities filled up with water and fell back into the darkness not to be seen again. Today, the fenced-in openings or collars of the shafts are a common feature in the Allihies landscape.