Mine - copper

The National Monuments Service's description

St Crohane’s Hermitage: This primitive mine, exploiting a mineralised copper-bed occurrence, is located c. 300m NE of the summit of Coad mountain. The upper reaches of the Behaghane river flow immediately at W, and the site holds a commanding view over Cove Harbour and Kenmare Bay to SE. The mine comprises a small horizontal opening driven 55 degrees into the W face of a scarp exposure of a quartz-sulphide vein. The working measures 2.2m wide at the entrance, narrowing to 1.2m near the rear and is 4.8m deep. The height inclines from 2.1m at the entrance to 1m at the rear, and a thin deposit of earth and stones overlies its floor.
The surfaces of the back and hanging walls are streaked with green malchite mineralisation. Their smooth and polished concave profiles suggests the possible use of fire-setting. There are no identifiable associated spoil dumps with this working. The existence of shafts and denuded spoil-dumps further along the quartz reel indicate that intermittent industrial mining activities took place here in the nineteenth century. Some of these trials, however, may relate to the industrial activities of Sir William Petty and the Kenmare Colony during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (O’Brien 1987, 275-83). The primitive mine was used as a forge in 1808 (Ó Suilleabháin 1945, 24), and a drystone rectangular structure located adjacent to it may be related to the later mining activities.
This primitive copper mine is known locally as St Crohane’s Cell or Carraig Chrócháin, and is dedicated to St Crohane, the patron saint of the parish (OSL). It was visited as a station of a turas or pilgrimage during the now defunct three-day pattern of Kilcrohane, which commenced at Toberavilla (KE106-032003-) on 29 July. Both Smith and Pococke recorded an association between the mine and St Kieran of Seir who is reputed to have composed his rule here (1756, 93; in Ó Maidín 1959, 36). Associated with the later phase of the site are two roughly built and slightly curving walls which extend to SE and SW from either side of the mine-face. They average 2m long, .4m high and .5m wide. Lying on the surface of the E wall is a small slab which bears a deeply scratched linear cross on its upper surface. A series of stones form a step at the rear of the mine and may also be of late date.

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 259. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 30 July 2013

References

O'Sullivan, A. and Sheehan, J. 1996 The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry. Cork University press.

O'Brien, W. 1987 Primitive copper mining in south-west Ireland, 3 vols. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. University College, Cork.

Ó Maidín, P. 1959a Pococke's tour of south and south-west Ireland in 1758. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 64, 35-56.

Pococke, R. 1752 In G. Stokes (ed.), Pococke's Tour of Ireland in 1752, Dublin, 1894.

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.

Ó Suilleabháin, D. 1945 Seanchas Bhordóinin. Béaloideas 15, 3-86.