THE Montana State flag flew over each parish on the Beara Peninsula on St Patrick’s Day to commemorate links between Beara and Montana, USA.
Beara has strong links to the state, with many miners who worked in the copper mines at Allihies later emigrating to Montana when the mines closed in the late 1800s.
The closure of the Allihies mines coincided with huge tracts of copper and silver being discovered in Butte, Montana.
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More than 1,200 men from Beara emigrated to Butte Montana to mine what became known as ‘the richest hill on earth.’
By 1900 records show that a quarter of the residents of Butte were Irish.
How important the Irish influence became in Butte is illustrated by the story of an Arab rug merchant trading in Butte who was named Mohammed Akara, but legally changed his last name to Murphy which he claimed was for business reasons.
To this day, many of the headstone in cemeteries throughout Montana bear the names of Sullivan and Harrington.
In May 2025, a delegation of more than 50 travelled from Beara to Butte to commemorate 150 years of the Irish contribution to the State of Montana.
Among those travelling was the late Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy, and it would poignantly be Cllr Murphy’s last overseas trip on behalf of Cork County Council.
Jim Sullivan from Beara Tourism, who was one part of the delegation, said the primary aim of the visit was to celebrate the links and to recognise the continuation of traditions maintained by the present generation in the State.
Whilst in Montana the group were officially hosted at the State House in Helena and the City Hall in Butte. During the visit to City Hall, Jim said that one of their group, Castletownbere GP Dr Fiona Kelly, was presented with the Montana State by JP Gallagher, the Chief Executive of the City and County of Butte.
Additional flags were also given to the group be distributed to each parish in Beara.
Jim said the flags will be flown throughout Beara Peninsula over the St Patrick’s Day festivities in Castletownbere, Allihies, Eyeries, Adrigole, Ardgroom and Bere Island.
‘It will honour the Beara immigrants who helped shape local communities in Montana, bringing with them their culture, traditions, and even place names reminiscent of home.’
