Arigna has had a long and proud tradition of mining through the centuries with the industry dating back to the 1600's (over 400 years). Arigna coal was mined in what were the first and last coalmines in Ireland. It still bears the remnants of the coal mines closed in 1990 and previous years. Forming part of Kilronan Parish;
Arigna Village has a church, parochial house, school, public house, grocery shop, post office and community centre.
( See "Services of the Parish" ).
Also in the village is the office of Arigna Leader.
The Leader Programme was secured in the Arigna area following the closure of the mines in an attempt to offset the growing numbers of the unemployed.
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The Cavan/Leitrim Railway
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For many decades the "Cavan - Leitrim Railway" featured in plans for this
area. The first proposal for a railway in this rather poor area was made
in 1883. A meeting at Ballinamore on the 14th September resolved to promote
a light railway between Belturbet and Dromod via Ballinamore with a tramway
to open up the coal and iron districts of Arigna and Lough Allen in Roscommon.
On the 19th of September,
The Irish Times described the project as "The most important line that
would be opened in Ireland under the Tramways Act".
The project was heavily publicised with lavish analysis of the expected
returns from mineral, animal and passenger traffic. There was no shortage
of support for the new railway and work commenced in 1885. The three foot
gauge line eventually ran 48.5 miles ( excluding the Arigna Valley ) and
opened on 17th October 1887.
The first class carriages were comfortably furnished with paintings of
Irish scenery displayed in each compartment. The coaches were eight-wheelers
with an attractive domed roof. Each had a railed veranda either end and
a footplate over the coupling. First returns were overwhelmingly good
and it looked as if the railway would be a great success. Most services
had to be extended and livestock traffic was particularly heavy. There
were a number of level crossings on the line which were worked from a
cottage specially built for the purpose.
Coal for the steam engine was an early problem. Welsh coal was imported
at great cost. The C. & L.R. set up the Arigna Mining Company to explore
the coal deposits within three miles of the terminus. In 1903 the C. &
L.R. was extended up the Arigna valley for easy access to the coalmines.
Talk of Closure came as early as 1939 and continued during the fuel crisis
of the war years 1939 - 1945.
In 1955 the E.S.B. announced the building of a coal-fired generating station
on the western shore of Lough Allen, in County Roscommon which would take
the output of the Arigna Mines. At this time a new coal contract brought
a reprieve, and for a short time mines and railway were busy. As one of
the last surviving narrow gauge lines the C. & L.R. attracted visitors
from all over the world when rumours of the closure hardened into fact.
The end was announced in 1959.
The main reason was an annual loss of £40,000 on top of the cost of essential
modernisation. The last train, which was packed, ran on the 31st of March
1959. Two engines have been preserved. "Lady Edith"
with one or two coaches was shipped to America and "Kathleen"
has been restored by the Belfast Transport Museum. During it's existence
the C. & L.R. was known locally as "The Narra Gauge". At the turn of the
century an American was heard to enquire, "Say Boss, is this the Cavan
& Leitrim Railroad"? Native "No Mister, that's the Narra Gauge"! The C.
& L.R. narrow gauge passed into history. Had the line survived what a
tourist attraction it would be today.
NOTE:- The
Arigna Miners Way and Historical Trail traverses a section of this
old narrow gauge railway track between Arigna and Drumshanbo. The Arigna
area of Roscommon and the adjacent mountains of Co. Leitrim were famous
for coal and iron mining. From as early as the 15th century iron was mined
in the area. Coal mining became more prominent in the 19th century. In
July 1990, centuries of a mining tradition ended with the closure of the
last of the coal mines. Arigna was Ireland's only coal-mining centre at
the time.
The Arigna River
The Arigna, river , rising in County Sligo, flows south-east into Lough
Allen. The district is rich in minerals, including coal, iron, and limestone.
Ironworks on an extensive scale were established here 1788 but proved
unprofitable under various managements and were discontinued in 1808.
Coal mining sustained the community for some 250 years, including the
Famine years.
The sleek, aerodynamic wind turbines which generate electricity now are a stark contrast to traditional method of the electrical generation by the local E.S.B. Station which was powered by Arigna coal. The electricity generated by the wind turbines is fed into the national grid. Many millions of tons of low-grade or "crow", coal still remain unexploited in the hills. The only active continuation of the coal tradition lies in the production locally of high-grade smokeless briquettes by the Arigna Fuels factory. |
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Arigna Today
The most spectacular section of a scenic drive is from Drumshanbo via Arigna over the ridge-back of Kilronan Mountain, and down to Ballyfarnon, with great views on either side. The roads are narrrow and winding but the views offered by this journey through the Kilronan Mountain is well worth the effort. It leads along narrow, winding and often bumpy roads that pass through tiny, immaculate villages like Keadue and some of the most magnificent scenery in Ireland.
Grey squirrels, stoats, badgers, rabbits and hares can be seen along the route, and among the birds to be spotted are goldcrests and pheasants.
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Ballyfarnon can be traced back to the 18th century, and statistics dated 1773 indicate that while Kilronan parish was the most neglected and most uncultivated in the Kingdom, Ballyfarnon was a growing village because of iron foundry and mills. At one stage there were two mills in the village. Turlough O'Carolan's father came to Ballyfarnon from
Co. Meath and this probably was as a result of the Iron works and mills. In 1837 Ballyfarnon had one lieutenant, one sergeant and 13 revenue police also one sergeant and four constabulary police.
There was a school in the village in 1826 - it was a cowshed.
Seventeen boys and three girls attended and the master's salary was
£8-0-0. No Scripture was read in the school. In 1833 a new school was established which afforded education to a few Catholics and Protestants. The National Education Report of 1851 tells us that Ballyfarnon had two schools - male and female. The male teacher received £29-10-0 while the female teacher received £12-10-0.
These schools were at Brendan Emmetts and Tom Shivnans while the 1926 school was in Mick Gaffney's barn. In 1891 a two-storey school built by the Horans, on a site given by Thomas The McDermott-Roe, replaced the other schools. The modern school was built by father Thomas O'Brien. The survey of 1773 shows that Ballyfarnon consisted of some ten cabins. By 1845 it is described by Dalton in his History of Ireland and Annals of Boyle as a 'thriving little town of Ballyfarnon". It contained upwards of 40 houses of which 32 were two stories and two were three stories with a population of 243 persons. It had a weekly market and eight annual fairs. In 1885 Ballyfarnon had 55 holdings and the names of some of those householders are still in the village - Sheerin, Lavin, Flynn, Noone, McDonagh. Other names not associated with the village today were Slack, Kickeyson & Loughnane.
The village was, up to the late 1970's, famous for it's pig and cattle fairs.
The fair green - The fair green was behind the market house and on fair days there was a Custom's man who collected the money from anybody who bought or sold an animal on the Fairgreen. Most of the money collected was used to pay the rent for the Fairgreen.
There were two forges in Ballyfarnon - Shivnan's forge and Noone's forge. Noone's forge was where Michael Killoran's coal yard is to-day. Shivnan's forge was where the tyre remould plant is to-day.
Vincent Jordan used to work there but now has his own and only forge in the Ballyfarnon area situated at Ardline.
The village had two tailors - tailor McLoughlin and tailor D'arcy. Tailor McLoughlin lived and worked where Tom (Sr.) Shivnan lived and Tailor D'arcy lived and worked where Michael Killoran now lives.
Retailers - There was a shop in the house at the corner of the mountain road owned by Miss Harte and now owned by Tommy Gunning. Mrs. Coulter lived there. Delph was once sold in this shop before it was turned into a sweet shop. There was a small dispensary where the O'Carolan Tavern Public House is now. The doctor who ran it lived in the presbytery. The shoemaker, Mr. Gill, lived on the mountain road and he made and mended shoes for the people of the village.
W.H. Lynn's owned a saw-mill which until recently were still in use.
They also had a bacon factory. Tommy Gray's father owned a bakery and delivered bread to all the shops in the surrounding area by horse drawn van. The bakery closed in 1933.
Mattie Emmett owned a 'Bicycle and Repair' shop. He was one of the first to have a petrol pump in North Roscommon.
Medical - There was a chemist where Carmel Costello now has her hairdressing salon. It opened twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
A dentist visited the village every Friday evening. He was Dr. McKeon from Boyle and his surgery was held in Shivnan's bar.
Postal Services - The Post office was originally in Thomas Shivnan's house. It was then moved to Lynn's Store and eventually to Benson's, where it now stands.
The R.I.C. Barracks was situated where the barracks now stands.
Town Hall - The old hall in Ballyfarnon was situated on the mountain road and was called The Hibernian Hall.
Town Services - Jimmy Cunnane ran a hackney service and did a very good business because cars were scarce. The village had three carpenters - Cryan's, Flynn's and Lynam's. Cryan's and Flynn's were where Michael Killoran and his family now live and Lynam's were where Mrs. White now lives. Ballyfarnon was one of the few towns to have it's own electricity supply generated from a power station at the entrance of the football pitch. Mr. Hugh McMorrow ran it and he lived in the house beside Vincent McDonagh's. The power station supplied the village with electricity until the E.S.B. took it over.
The village also had a miller and his name was Mark Healy and the mill was situated beside the bridge.
Accommodation - The village had it's own hotel situated where Killorans pub and shop are today. It was called Johnston's Hotel and was later owned by Jane and Annie Cunnane.
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Today Ballyfarnon is still a thriving town and while the iron foundry and mills have gone there are steel works, remould plant, and several small businesses to take their place. While Ballyfarnon town grows the adjoining towlands are declining in population.
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History
of Keadue :
Keadue is one of three villages in Kilronan Parish in North Roscommon.
The name "Keadue" is taken from the Irish name "Ceite" which is an old
Irish name for "Green Hill". There is very little mention of the place
in the history of the region. There is an account , though, of a battle
between the O'Conors and the Farrells on one side and the MacDermotts
on the other side. It was fought at "Ceite Tir Tuthall"
in 1296. The MacDermotts won and the O'Conors were annihilated. Keadue
Village is a Landlord's village. At one time it was called Ballymacmanus
because it was the home town or village of the MacManus Clan who were
the strongest clan at the time.
The name MacManus continues to be a very common name in the village and
surrounding area. Before that it was called "Kilronan Village". At that
time it was situated beyond the old Kilronan Abbey or about a mile West
from its present site . The Lord of Kilronan Castle decided that the village
was too near his castle so he had the village demolished and moved with
all its peasants to its present site.
In prehistoric times this area was quite a historic place as can be seen
from the many very remarkable archaeological megalithic monument remains
in the locality. There is some evidence also to indicate that at about
the dawn of Christianity there was a flourishing trade in gold and golden
artifacts somewhere along the shores of Lough Meelagh.
It is said that the gold was found in the Arigna River which splits the
two mountain ranges in the parish.
The village has, of course, always been associated with Kilronan Abbey which was founded by St. Ronan and his daughter Lasair back in the sixth century. The present Abbey was built by the Duignan Clan in the early twelfth century. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1343. Turlough O'Carolan composer supreme and harper who lived in 1670 to 1738 and resided in Ballyfarnon is buried in the old Abbey.
O 'Carolan was blind as a result of smallpox when he was eighteen years old. He travelled the North West of Ireland on horseback and played his harp and composed his music for those who would welcome him and provide food, drink and shelter. Those whom he found most congenial were of the English and Irish gentry line and owned the
"big houses". Each year at the beginning of August Keadue hosts the "International O' Carolan Harp Festival." This festival attracts some thousands of foreign harpers and other musicians from all over the world to the little village. The place becomes an unlikely cosmopolitan oasis in the West of Ireland during this festival week.
( Learn more about harp Festival Here: Harp Festival )
Keadue , in modern times has become quite famous as one of Ireland's tidiest towns. It won the "Tidiest Town in Ireland" award in 1993.
And is consistently among the five or six best kept towns or villages in the country each year, ( Read Latest News... ). For the past twenty or so years it has had almost a stranglehold on the "Tidiest Town" position in Co. Roscommon and the West of Ireland. For the past two years it has won the Gold Medal as one of Ireland's six tidiest towns.
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