Allihies

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Image:Allihies abandoned copper mine.JPG

Allihies (Irish: Na hAilichí) is a coastal village in the west of County Cork, Ireland. It is located above Ballydonegan Bay on the western end of the Beara Peninsula between Cod's Head and Dursey Head .

Up to the 1930s, it was a copper-mining site. An attempt was made to restart mining in the late 1950s by a Canadian mining company, but this came to nought (see the Allihies Copper Mine Museum Web Site). The Village comprises three pubs, a post office and a general store. Its correct name is Cluin, but this is seldom used. The primary tourist attraction is the two sandy beaches created by mine spoil and the pubs.

The mine Museum project has run into difficulties, due to a third party claim of ownership on a piece of land to be used in their museum. A certain degree of local antipathy exists towards the museum also.

The Mountain Mine Man Engine House, located on the mountain above the village, has recently been conserved by the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland. The finished conservation project and some of the underground mine workings were features in a TV programme "Townlands" on RTÉ One in 2005.

The village attracted attention in June 1990 (and even more so in retrospective assessments) as having been deliberately chosen as one of the first places that Mary Robinson visited in her successful campaign for election as President of Ireland.