Situated in County Galway Glengowla was Ireland's first visitor mine.
Silver-rich lead was mined at this site from 1851 for only 14 years, but today the mine is rich in what was left behind by the miners - a scintillating variety of minerals plus a range of mining artefacts.
We first visited this site in 1997 to record it before it was opened as Ireland's first show mine. In 2009 on a repeat visit we were able to see the amazing progress that the owners, the Geoghegan family, have made in opening up this mine, making it safe and providing a fascinating visitor experience.
We were also fortunate to be able to descend below the current visitor limit to record the stunning display of crystals that still survive deep with the mine.
The mine is well worth a visit.
The Glengowla feature page also has a short video with excerpts from the Glengowla DVD.
