A delegation of more than 50 people from the Beara peninsula left for Butte, Montana last Friday, where they will spend the next tendays commemorating 150 years of the Irish contribution to the state of Montana.
The group’s organiser, Jim O’Sullivan, said they aim to celebrate the links between Beara and Butte; many miners who worked in the copper mines at Allihies later emigrated to work the Butte mines when the mines at home closed in the late 1800s.
The delegation, which is being led by county mayor, Cllr Joe Carroll, will visit Missoula, Helena, and Yellowstone National Park during the trip.
In the spirit of friendship, they are bringing with them a hand-crafted coffee table, made by members of the Allihies Men’s Shed, to present to the people of Butte.
David Dudley explained its three symbolic components.
‘One leg, the Beara leg, has been designed to represent the north engine house of the Allihies mines and is made from Irish oak grown in Cork, while the Butte leg represents the headframe of the mine in Butte, Montana.’
The wood used to make the ‘Butte leg’ was originally shipped from the US to Allihies in the 1800s to make miner’s huts.
This wood was later repurposed by the Roycroft family in Skibbereen to build a wooden house and last year, the Roycroft family gifted this wood back to the people of Allihies and ‘the wood has now come full circle in that we’re bringing some of it back to the US,’ said David.
The table-top is made from Ash, a tree which grows in both the US and Ireland, while some copper ore from the Allihies mines has been embedded in the table.
A commemorative plaque on it features a QR code which leads to further information on the construction of the table.
Crucially, the table has been designed so that it can be flat-packed in a suitcase and easily reassembled in Montana.
Jim said the Beara delegation are delighted that they will be officially hosted at the State House in Helena and the City Hall in Butte.
‘Three local musicians from Beara are travelling with us, sisters Natalie and Giselle O’Mara, will sing and play instruments, and Emily O’Sullivan, who plays the harp, will perform at both events.’ Jim has also extended an open invitation to any Beara people living in Montana to join them at all the events being held.
The delegation also includes local representatives Cllrs Patrick Gerard Murphy, Caroline Cronin, Alan Coleman, and Niall Healy of Cork County Council.
The Cork County Council cohort’s travel costs amount to €7546.24 on flights, and another €12,959 on hotels.
