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Creevelea (Co.Leitrim)
G 9085 2925
| Creevelea Iron Foundry Iron mining and smelting is one of the oldest mining
related industries in Ireland, arguably extending back to the time of the
introduction of Iron into Ireland by Iron age, Celtic invaders about 600BC.
Traces of old "bloomeries", charcoal fired iron smelters, have been found
in a number of areas, and by 1652, Boate provides a detailed account of
Iron mines and works then established and operating in several parts of
Ireland. Arigna is one of those districts, and in time it was to become
the primary focus for a nascent "Industrial Revolution" in Ireland. This
opportunity arose principally as a result of the coincidence of coal and
iron ore in the same area. However, the efforts to develop the resource
were constrained by the relatively poor quality of the coal. The O'Reilly
brothers were the first to attempt iron smelting using the locally produced
coal, with iron mined from workings on Slieve Anierin, and similar attempts
were made at Creevelea in Leitrim. Elsewhere, smelting was undertaken largely
with charcoal, at Drumshanbo up to 1765, and later around L. Allen, between
1788 - 1808, and from 1824 to about 1860.The earliest recorded Iron mining and smelting
in this region dates from the period of operation by Sir Charles Coote,
commencing in 1621 and continuing up to the rebellion of 1641, when all
works were destroyed. At the peak of this phase, up to 3,000 English and
Dutch workers were employed by Coote. The works ere re-established after
1695 and continued well into the 18th Century, only ceasing with the exhaustion
of charcoal supplies: production at Drumshanbo ceased in 1765, and at Creevelea
in 1768. |
| The iron ore in this region occurs principally in the form of siderite
(iron carbonate) nodules in shale, with an apparent average iron content
of 40%. The following historical account has been abstracted from: John
McAuley, "Creevalea Iron Works 1600 - 1898". North Leitrim Glens
Development Company.
'Subsequent to the cessation of the earliest phase
of charcoal based smelting operations in 1768, the Creevelea site lay dormant
until 1852, when a Scottish company resumed operations. Within a short period,
this company had constructed two coke fired blast furnaces, an 80h.p. blowing
engine, various offices, workshops, store houses and 10 cottages for workers
at a reported cost of about £30,000. Iron ore for this operation was mined
at Tullynamoyle, about 1.5 miles from the site, and drawn to the site by
a horse tramway to the top of the blast furnaces. In contrast, coal was
brought from Arigna, about 10 miles away, and it is conjectured that it
was the cost of transporting fuel from there that contributed to the demise
of the operation by 1854. However, local tradition holds that a curse placed
upon the workers by the local clergy in response to their carousing and
womanising, also contributed to the company's downfall. Sections of the
Tay Bridge, Scotland, cannon for the Crimean War, and the Ha'penny Bridge
in Dublin are all reputed to have been produced from iron smelted during
this phase of operations. However, the latter, at least, was, in fact, cast
in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1816.'
The works are listed in "Mineral Statistics" for 1857, though
without mention of any production figures. Operations were resumed in
1861, under the direction of a Mr. Joseph Potts of Dublin, using peat,
instead of coal. The peat was extracted from Gowlaun Bog, just over a
mile from the works, from banks still known to this day as the "Company
Banks". Using a patented process, the peat was converted into a high purity
charcoal, which contributed very significantly to the purity of the cast
iron product. Indeed, the product was reported to be at least 40% stronger
than Scottish pig iron. Despite the success of these innovations, and
the potential for incorporating the Bessemer process to produce steel,
the operation ceased in 1862. A pen and ink sketch of the Creevelea Iron
Foundry, reproduced from a photograph taken in 1902. The sketch shows
the engine house (now demolished); the blast furnace (still extant, see
accompanying photographs); and the iron ore tramway to the top of the
furnace. Operations were resumed once again, in 1896, under the aegis
of the Peat Charcoal Fuel and Iron Company of Ireland Ltd. This company
sought to use an improved peat charcoal production process as the basis
of its undertaking, and installed an aerial ropeway to transport peat
from the "Company Banks" to the foundry. Apart from casting a single pig
of iron in 1898, these efforts were unsuccessful and the foundry closed
again, and for the final time, in 1900. The sole remaining blast furnace
at the Creevelea Iron Foundry site. |
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The foundry complex lay derelict for many years afterwards, though a photograph
of the Works, taken in 1902, [and from which the pen and ink sketch above
has been derived], shows it largely intact 2 years after closure. However,
the engine house and other structures were demolished over the period
1939 - 1945, to provide road foundation material. Today, only 1 of the
2 blast furnaces remains , along with a slate roof workers cottage, part
of the tramway, and the foundation outline of other buildings on the foundry
site.
Text from John Morris, photograph taken by Matthew Parkes in 1998.
See also Cole's Memoir page 77.
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Added to MHTI WebSite March 11th, 2001
Last Revised August 14th, 2001
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