Arigna, Roscommon
- Kevin McManus
- Ireland
- November 9, 2021
Table of Contents
Arigna, Parish of Kilronan, Roscommon
Arigna (Irish: An Airgnigh, formerly Cairn An Ailt), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland.
Parish of Kilronan which includes the main villages of Keadue, Arigna and Ballyfarnon in County Roscommon.
Near Lough Allen.
It is closeby the shores of Lough Allen (on the Shannon-Erne Waterway), on a designated “scenic route” between Keadue and Sliabh an Iarainn. Arigna is situated in Kilronan Parish alongside the villages of Keadue and Ballyfarnon.
Coal Mining
There is a long association with the coal mining industry, carried out for over 400 years until the mines closed in 1990.
The mining history at Arigna started in the Middle Ages with the mining of iron here, and at Sliabh an Iarainn. At the beginning of the 17th century, the iron was smelted at Arigna in newly built ironworks, using charcoal, which was burnt from the wood of the forests around. But as no organised tree planting took place and the timber eventually ran out, the ironworks had to be closed at the end of the 17th century.
More than half a century later, in 1765, the mining of the coal deposits started, and again 30 years later the smelting was revived using the local coal instead of charcoal. These ironworks closed finally in 1838, as they were not very successful …
