Arigna, Boyle.    Tel: 071 964 6466   

 Email: tours@arignaminingexperience.ie   Web: www.arignaminingexperience.ie

The Arigna Mining Experience is a unique community inspired initiative which records 400 years of mining history in the area. Coal mining provided much needed work in a region of poor agricultural land.  Regular employment was uncommon in the province of Connaught in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it is often said; “There was money in Arigna when there was no money elsewhere”.
The industry sustained the community of Arigna down through the centuries and helped them through the horrors of the famine years (1845 to 1852).

The Arigna Mining Experience building was officially opened by Minister Jim McDaid, Minister of State in the Department of Transport on Wednesday 23rd of April 2003. Arigna Mining Experience represents a significant achievement by the community of Arigna, the centre being the first of its kind in Ireland.
The completed complex gives visitors an authentic insight into an industry which played a fundamental role in Arigna for generations and is now a tourist attraction of both national and international significance. In completing this project, Arigna has not only created a unique visitor experience but has also ensured the preservation of a crucial part of our history for future generations.