Bunmahon

Men at Bonmahon Mines in the early 1900s

Bonmahon was a mining village. Copper was mined here between 1827 and 1877. The population of the village swelled to over 2000 at that time. A temperance hall was built (converted in 1842 to become St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church).[1] The village was home to a pawn shop, a creamery and a bacon factory, as well as 21 public houses. A history of this period and the mining activity was published in 2006, entitled The Making and Breaking of a Mining Community by local historian Des Cowman.[2] One of the mine workers was Thomas Wheatley, whose son John Wheatley later went on to be Minister for Health for the first Labour Party (UK) government in 1924.

Bunmahon lies at the heart of the Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark. The Geopark operates a Visitor Centre located in the former Church of Ireland building. This is one of the copper coast's unchanged areas as it has not been touched by developers and boasts numerous beaches and wildlife. The wildlife includes wild foxes, rabbits, and many different species of birds. The local beach is popular with holidaymakers and surfers use it all year round. Tidy Town efforts have created a fully accessible boardwalk along the sand dunes, as well as improved access to the neighboring cove of Tra na mBó. It also has its own surfing school which runs in the summer months owned by local entrepreneur Tadhg Buckley. Tadhg also happens to have come runner up several years in a row for postman of the year. The beach and surrounding coast is covered by the Bonmahon Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.[3]

• List of towns and villages in Ireland