US town remembers more than 1,100 West Cork miners buried in unmarked graves

The memorial by Irish sculptor Terry Brennan marks the strong links between the Colorado mining town and the village of Allihies

The Irish Miners’ Memorial features a life-sized bronze sculpture of a miner bent on one knee, holding a pick and facing Ireland to represent the immigrants, labourers, and children buried in what’s known as ‘the pauper’ section of Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery. Picture: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

An American town where around 1,100 West Cork miners and their families are buried in unmarked ‘pauper’ graves has unveiled a poignant monument in their memory.

The Irish Miners’ Memorial which has been unveiled in Leadville was created by Irish sculptor Terry Brennan and marks the strong links between the Colorado mining town and the West Cork village of Allihies.

The Irish Miners’ Memorial which has been unveiled in Leadville was created by Irish sculptor Terry Brennan and marks the strong links between the Colorado mining town and the West Cork village of Allihies. Picture: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

According to historians, most of those buried in the unmarked graves are miners and their families who originally hailed from Allihies. They journeyed across the Atlantic to seek a new life after the once-affluent copper-mining industry collapsed in the West Cork village in the late 1800s.

In 1812 a copper-rich vein was discovered in Allihies and at the height of production in 1842 around 1,600 people were employed in the extraction process.

However, in 1885 the mine was all but closed and many of its workers and their families emigrated to the USA to find similar work in Leadville and in Butte, Montana. 

Leadville recently twinned with Allihies because of the strong historical mining connection.

The Irish Miners’ Memorial features a life-sized bronze sculpture of a miner bent on one knee, holding a pick and facing Ireland to represent the immigrants, labourers, and children buried in what’s known as ‘the pauper’ section of Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery. 

The names of all those buried in Leadville are listed on glass walls circling the monument. Picture: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

The ceremony was dubbed ‘Naming the Unnamed.’  Guests from West Cork were invited to the unveiling of the sculpture and the ceremony in Leadville.

Allihies Copper Mine Museum chairman Tadhg O’Sullivan, who travelled to Leadville, said: “A local professor, Jim Walsh, undertook painstaking research of church records and established the names of all those buried there. They are listed on glass walls circling the monument.”  

Tadhg O'Sullivan was one of the speakers at the monument's unveiling. “The whole Irish connection has moved up several notches as a result of this. A number of officials are coming from Leadville to Allihies next May as part of our twinning arrangement,” he said. 

"Aer Lingus is starting flights directly from Denver, Colorado to Dublin which we hope will result in more people from the Leadville region coming to visit Allihies and West Cork."

Paul McLoughlin (right) with Geraldine Byrne Nason, of Drogheda, Ambassador of Ireland to the USA, at a dedication to the memorial in Leadville.

The monument was financed by the Irish Network Colorado (INCO) and Local officials said the commemoration was intended to honour those who came to Colorado in search of a better life. He said the monument also serves as a beacon to all immigrants struggling in lands that are not always welcoming.

Leadville officials also hosted a number of events to mark the occasion, including parades, and lectures. 

A number of dignitaries, including Colorado State Senator Michael Bennett and the Irish Ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne-Nelson, were also in attendance at the unveiling.