Arigna Mining Experience

Legend holds that they came to the shores of the Isle in the form of a mist. Led by the goddess Dana, they swept across the peaks of Sliabh an Iaraiarn. There, they settled, and not long after, the magical tribe discovered iron. The T'uatha De Danaan forged weapons from the iron and used them to defeat the ruling Formorians at Magh Tuireadh. With weapons and magic, the tribes of the T'uatha De Danaan, from high on Sliabh Iarairn, ruled the Emerald Isle for centuries.

Thousands of years later, the same iron that saved the Danaan created prosperity in a small town named Arigna. Since the first mine opened in 1621, the iron and coal from Arigna provided fuel for the whole of Ireland.

Working underground in extremes of cold and wet, enveloped in a mist of rock dust much of the time, the thousands of miners who laboured at Arigna-many of whom developed Black Lung Disease-made possible continued production and harvesting of iron and coal. It is said that good quality Arigna coal always had a shine to it. And at Mass on Sundays, miners could be distinguished from farmers by their strange pale complexions. Being constantly underground and subject to sprays of rock dust, they didn't have the luxury of sunlight and were never able to remove the pale ashen colour of rock dust.

When the mines closed in 1990, two hundred and seventy miners lost their jobs. Ten years later, however, with two private donation and a government grant, another group of hardworking miners went to work in the mines of Arigna-this time to prepare them for a public debut as a tourist attraction: The Arigna Mining Experience.

Today, approximately 70,000 tourists from around the world don hard hats and heavy jackets and follow an ex-miner underground through what was the last working mine in Arigna. Learning the history of the mines and the men who laboured under harsh conditions in cramped, wet spaces year after year carries the visitor into the heart of a working life barely imaginable.

At the end of the 45-minute tour, visitors can warm themselves beside a fireplace in the coffee shop and browse the fine pieces of memorabilia that line the walls of the centre. The Arigna Mining Experience is unforgettable, a must-see.

Open all year 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. €8.00 admission, group prices available

Note: The mine stays at a constant 50 degrees. Heavy jackets and sturdy walking shoes recommended for comfort.

How to get there:

From Dublin, N4 to Carrick-on-Shannon then 280 to Arigna. Well signposted.

From Belfast, M1 and A4 to Belcoo, Blacklion, then to Dowra, Drumshanbo, and Arigna.

Address:

Arigna Mining Experience

Dereenavoggy, Arigna

Co. Roscommon bordering Leitrim

T: 071 964 6466

www.arignaminingexperience.ie

Written by Joy Davis - Summer of Travel 2007