| COOLARTRAGH [H787286] The Coolartragh Mine, otherwise known as the Coolartra, Bond , Bond and Newry or Coolarten and Bond Mine, was worked and developed for lead intermittently from sometime in the early 1840s, apparently by a William Conn, up to 1892. Production from the Mine is first recorded in Mineral Statistics in 1845, and for the subsequent years 1846, 1847 and 1864: it is also listed, but with no recorded production, from 1848 - 1852. Egan (1877) notes that the mine was worked for an initial period, discontinued and then resumed with the construction of an Engine House, dressing floors and extension of underground workings. |
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Extant mine abandonment records in the Geological Survey of Ireland, dated February 1892, include a plan showing a smithy-joiners shop- office building, engine house [50" engine installed in 1862] and traveling way decline to the (Engine) shaft. In longitudinal section, this shaft provided access to levels at 13, 20, 25 and 32 fathoms, with a winze between the 25 and 32 fathom levels, while the 13 and 20 fathom levels are shown to extend considerable distances north and south respectively. Stoped out areas are shown at the 13 fathom level, which is also intersected by two other shafts, denoted "Red" and "Black". |
| Folk memory of this mine is recorded in a 6 verse poem by
local poet Neil Doran (c.1850? - 1936), entitled the "Coolartra Races".
The poem recounts a race meeting for horses, ponies and donkeys organized
on January 23rd, 1892 by the local Mine Captain, Captain Walker. As reproduced
in "The Clontibret Story" (Brendan Ó'Dufaigh, 1997), the final verse reads
as follows: "Long life to Captain Walker and long may he reign, To conduct the mines in Ireland till we have a race again, To split the rock apart till our treasure it is found, And pick up all the silver lead that lies underneath the ground." [Morris, 1984; Morris, MHSI Newsletter, 2000] |
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Added to MHTI WebSite July 11th, 2001
Last Revised July 11th, 2001