The Arigna Mining experience is home to what was the last working coal mine in Ireland. Located high up in county Roscommon you are in for a treat, with fantastic views of Lough Allen near Carrick-on-Shannon. The mine closed in 1990 and reopened with the new visitor center in 2003. Since then the experience has attracted many locals and tourist to the mine to learn what life was like working in these mines.
While you are waiting for the tour to begin, you can look around a small museum telling you a brief history of the mine, people, and instruments used.
There is also a video that plays on a loop for a more in-depth history. When the tour begun we were brought to the entrance of the mine where we were given hard hats and were introduced to our tour guide
Something special about the tour is that all the tour guides are ex-miners of Arigna. Our guide was the friendly Michael Earley, he was so easy to talk to and told us personal stories of his experiences of working there, and funny stories of past tours which gave a very unique feel.
The mine itself is huge but we were only shown a small portion of it which it understandable because there is only so many tunnels that you can see before losing interest. The tour was an hour long which i thought the perfect because in that space of time you get to experience all aspects of the mine while also not getting too cold. A recommendation is to bring warm and waterproof clothing as it does get very cold and there is the odd drip here and there.
After the tour is complete we were lead to the very quaint gift shop and café. The experience is fully wheelchair accessible and provides free WiFi and parking.
Overall the experience was well above expectations and i enjoyed every minute i was there. And would recommend this to anyone as it is truly remarkable.
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