Arigna

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  • Aspects of Roscommon



History

Arigna is a village situated in the Arigna Mountains in the north of Co. Roscommon.

The village lies close to the shores of Lough Allen, the first lake on the Shannon.

The village has a long association with the mining industry, which is part of a larger heritage of providing energy to the Connacht region.

Mining was carried out in Arigna for over 400 years until the mines were shut in 1990.

Mining in the Arigna Valley goes back to the 1600s, when iron ore was found in the area and an iron smelter was established by Charles Coote. Smelting is the process by which steel is produced from iron ore. An important part of the process is the use of a fuel, which is a source of carbon.

In the early days of iron smelting in Roscommon, charcoal was the fuel of choice, as timber from surrounding forests was very plentiful. By 1690, however, the forests were used up and the iron works were closed down.

The Arigna Power Station was opened in 1958 and was the first major electricity generating station in Connaught. The primary reason for opening the power station in Arigna was to secure hundreds of jobs in the local mining industry.

In the 1980s, the supply of top-grade coal from the Arigna mines was used up and in 1990 the power station was closed down. The closure of the power station was a huge blow to the local area, as many families depended on the mine and the power station for employment.