Glengowla Mines

Glengowla Mines
Mianaigh Ghleann Gabhla
Location within Ireland
Established 1999
Location Glengowla East, near Oughterard, County Galway, Ireland
Coordinates 53°25′05″N 9°22′28″W / 53.418165°N 9.374353°W / 53.418165; -9.374353Coordinates: 53°25′05″N 9°22′28″W / 53.418165°N 9.374353°W / 53.418165; -9.374353
Type Lead and silver mining museum
Public transit access Glengola Bridge (Bus Éireann route 421)
Website glengowlamines.ie

Glengowla Mines is a "show mine" dedicated to the lead and silver mining history of Glengowla and the Oughterard area.[1][2]

History

Mining at Glengowla began in 1851, after a farmer discovered galena just under the soil surface.[3] The first mine shaft was named after a Captain Paul. The mine was in operation until 1865, eventually measuring 40 metres deep and 200 feet wide. The main mining centred on silver and lead, though Connemara marble, gold,[4] dolerite, quartz, and rare green and blue octahedral fluorite.[5]

Exhibitions and tour

The site was opened as a heritage site by the owners of the land, Patrick and Keith Geoghegan.[4] Glengowla Mines' site includes the remains of a 19th-century silver and lead mine, which has been restored to allow visitor access. There is also a heritage and visitor centre, a blacksmith's shop, and a circular powder house.[5]

Glengowla is part of Ireland’s National Seismic Network, logging real-time information with a seismograph, contributing to information of earthquakes worldwide.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Glengowla Mines". Show Caves. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Glengowla Mines". Ask About Ireland. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Glengowla Lead Mines ~ Oughterard". County Galway Guide. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 Prendeville, Tom (3 August 2014). "Farmers strike tourism gold in Connemara's Glengowla hills". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Glengowla Mines". Galway Tourism. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Claffey, Martin (23 Feb 2014). "Connemara: the best of the west". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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