American wood used for West Cork mining huts to make journey home after hundreds of years

Such kit homes were very rare in Ireland, and when mining finished in the village of Allihies in the late 1800s, the wood from them was auctioned off and was recycled to build houses

The original wood from kit houses brought over from America to house miners in Allihies has been recycled into a model of the one of the original houses. Picture: David Dudley

It brings recycling to a new ‘historic’ level — parts of ‘kit houses’ which were brought over from the US to accommodate miners in West Cork nearly 150 years ago will soon be back in their rightful place.

Meanwhile, more of the wood is being repurposed as a special gift to a city in the US which has vital mining and heritage links with the same West Cork village.