A COLLABORATION between Dursey Boat Trips and the Allihies Mine Museum has created an exciting new initiative – Discover Allihies.
For one, all-inclusive price, visitors can take a 90-minute boat trip followed by a visit to a truly accessible museum that gives people an insight into the region's fascinating copper mining history.
From the seaward side, passengers on board the Dursey Voyager learn how the beach at Ballydonegan isn’t sand at all but finely crushed stones from the village’s ancient copper mines and they can see the mine’s engine houses towering over the landscape.
The first of these new boat trips, limited to 12 people per journey, will start at 1pm on this weekend but will be extended to meet demand.
The 20-mile trip, which departs from Garnish Pier, will also take in the townlands of Eskivaud and Claonach, both of which once had a population large enough to sustain a school.
Both townlands are now almost deserted, but Claonach was the filming location of Falling for a Dancer, which was based on the novel written by the late Deirdre Purcell and starred Colin Farrell.
Interesting details about former enterprises, such as copper mining and lighthouse building, as well as today’s reliance on farming and fishing, are expertly told by Paul O’Shea, the owner of Dursey Boat Trips.
Paul said the boat trips should serve to whet people’s appetite to learn more about the region’s fascinating history. That’s where a trip to the Allihies Copper Mine Museum comes in.
Brian Sullivan, Caoimhe O Shea, Paul O Shea, Marie O Shea, all of Dursey Boat Trips with Don Colbert Project officer Wild Atlantic Way at Failte Ireland, and Josephine O'Driscoll Wild Atlantic Way Manager Failte Ireland, Tara Hanley Klaudia Drozdzik and Tadhg O Sullivan Allihies Mine Museum. (Photo: Anne Marie Cronin Photography)
Tadhg O’Sullivan, chairman of the Copper Mine Museum, outlined the advances that the museum has made since it first opened its doors in August 2006.
In recent years, it was accredited by the Heritage Council of Ireland, which places it on the same high level as the top museums in the country.
This museum also has an excellent café, a sensory garden, as well as a coastal education hub that is run in cooperation with BIM, Ireland’s seafood development agency.
Anyone who has visited the museum has come away enthralled by the story. Its success in that regard is largely due to the rich collection of artefacts, and the interesting way the information is presented. It’s so good, in fact, that it eerily brings the ancient mining story to life.
Both Tadhg and Paul are delighted to be working in partnership to promote the region and to provide visitors with a complete immersive experience.
Both businesses work closely with Failte Ireland and, under the West Cork & Kenmare Destination and Experience Development Plan (DEDP) which was launched in 2023, collaboration is highlighted as a key to successfully developing the tourism offering throughout the destination. The DEDP is a five-year action-oriented plan which was developed through a collaboration with key stakeholders including local authorities, local development companies, state agencies and in particular representatives from the tourism & hospitality sector across the plan geography.
People interested in the Discover Allihies experience can book online with Dursey Boat Trips and with the Allihies Copper Mine Museum, or they can call 083 8989999.
