The Laois Cyclist: The Miners Way at Glendalough

Saturday 21 May 2022

The Miners Way at Glendalough

There's an area in the Glendalough valley with several different names.

It's a place called the old Lead Mines, Glendalough mines, the Miners Way and occasionally Van Diemen's Land.

Van Dieman's Land was a name once used to describe a place that is today called Tasmania.

It is an Island off south east Australia and a part of that country.

The area of the Lead Mines here at Glendalough was nicknamed Van Diemen's Land because in the 1850's it seemed a remote, barren and desolate area.

It too seemed very far removed from civilisation and much like Van Diemen's Land.

Van Diemen's Land in Australia was used as a Penal Colony by the British Government of the day and many Irish prisoners were shipped across the ocean to serve out their sentences thousands of miles from home.

This area was once a working mine where lead ore was mined by the Mining Company of Ireland and it was established in the 1850's.

Today it is somewhat less remote and being developed as a walking and recreation route which is to be encouraged.

There are a smattering of ruins which represent the buildings of the mining company and there are some small remnants of old disused and broken machinery to be found dotted about.

Large herds of deer roam the surrounding hillsides. The native Red Deer are quite wild while the smaller Sika are easier to get close to and seem to be less liable to startle.

Sika deer originated in Japan and were imported into Ireland. They were released in Wicklow circa 1860. Sika in Japanese means deer so correctly speaking they are properly referred to as Sika rather than Sika deer.

Fallow deer are also found in Wicklow. These are another introduced species and are believed to have been introduced into Ireland by Anglo Normans in the middle of the 13th century.

The Miners Way itself as of 2019 is now several colour coded waymarked walking trails. The trails are relatively easy to walk and well trodden.

Decades ago they saw few visitors but today the routes both new and old see many visitors, especially throughout the summer months.

The Valleys at Glendalough are what are known as U shaped valleys. They were carved by enormous Ice age Glaciers and they do not have a sharp V shape associated with valleys carved by rivers and water.

Huge Glaciers scraped, gouged and moulded the valleys into the shape you see today as you look down on them from above. The mines at Glendalough are just one site representing a group of several mines nearby and in the surrounding areas.