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DOLLA

CO. TIPPERARY · IE

Dolla
An Doladh, Co. Tipperary

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 07 / 07

An Doladh · Co. Tipperary

A crossroads in the Silvermines hills, with a lot of history underneath it.

Dolla is a crossroads where the R497 and R499 meet, eight kilometres south of Nenagh at the foot of the Silvermines hills. The 1889 Bassett's Directory described it as 'a rural post office, good dairying land, and a fair trout river through the parish.' That is still a reasonable description. It is not a destination village. It is the kind of place you drive through on the way to a walk, and then find yourself thinking about afterwards.

The hills behind it carry more history than the village itself lets on. Mining here goes back to 1289, when Italian workers from Genoa and Florence arrived under English Crown sponsorship to extract silver. They operated until 1303, when a killing led to an attack on the workers and the mines shut abruptly. What followed over the next seven centuries was a stop-start extraction of silver, lead, zinc, copper and baryte that ended only in 1993. The Mogul mine at its peak was the largest base metal mine in Europe. The tailings ponds on the southern approach to Silvermines village are its legacy - capped, fenced, and being slowly rehabilitated.

Above the crossroads, the ruins of Kilboy Church stand beside an old graveyard. The Kilboy estate behind them was built for the Prittie family - the future Lords Dunalley - around 1780, burned by anti-Treaty forces in 1922, partly demolished in the 1950s, and eventually bought by Tony Ryan, the Thurles-born founder of Ryanair, who set about restoring it. A fire in 2005 undid much of that work. The house was rebuilt again. It is private, and the story is better than the view from the road.

Walk score

Crossroads village - five minutes end to end

Coords

52.7658° N, 8.1684° W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Kilboy estate

A Georgian house with a complicated past.

Built c.1780 for the Prittie family, burned in the Civil War, rebuilt, demolished, and eventually restored by Tony Ryan of Ryanair. Still private. The ruins of Kilboy Church sit beside the old graveyard at the road.

Stories & lore → 02 The hills

Knockanroe Woods and the Silvermines ridge above the village.

The Knockanroe loop runs 4.1 km through forest and open hillside. A longer ridge walk takes you above the tree line into country that was mined for seven centuries and looks it - in a good way.

Walks & outings → 03 Mining country

Silver, lead, zinc - 700 years of it.

Italian miners arrived from Genoa in 1289. The Mogul mine, two kilometres down the road in Silvermines village, became the largest base metal operation in Europe. It closed in 1982. The tailings ponds are still there, being rehabilitated.

Stories & lore →

02 / 07

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Ryan-Lacken's Eagles Nest

Working crossroads local

Local pub and shop

The pub at the junction, next to the filling station. This is the village. No food beyond what they keep on the shelf. A pint before or after the Knockanroe loop is the main use case.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

1289, and a bad ending

The Italian miners

In 1289, miners from Genoa and Florence arrived in the Silvermines area under sponsorship of the English Crown, looking for silver. They found it, and worked the mines until 1303, when a local man was killed and the community's response ended operations abruptly. The mines sat idle for generations. Seven centuries of intermittent extraction followed, by which point the hills had given up silver, lead, zinc, copper, sulphur, iron, barytes and pyrites - a variety unmatched anywhere else in Ireland.

The Pritties, the burning, and the man who built Ryanair

Kilboy House

Kilboy House was built around 1780 for Henry Prittie MP, later the first Lord Dunalley, to a design by William Leeson - three storeys, five bays, Doric columns on the entrance front. It burned in August 1922 during the Civil War. The rebuilt version lost a storey in the 1950s when funds ran out. Tony Ryan, the Thurles-born founder of Ryanair, bought the estate in the 1980s and began restoring it. A fire in 2005 gutted much of the work. His son Shane had the house reconstructed again to the original three-storey design. It remains private. The ruins of Kilboy Church and the old Prittie graveyard are visible from the road.

Largest in Europe, closed in 1982

The Mogul mine

The 20th-century mining operation at Silvermines, run by Mogul of Ireland from the late 1960s, became the largest base metal mine in Europe at its peak - employing over 500 people, the single biggest employer in North Tipperary. The plant processed 3,000 tons of ore per day. The main Mogul operation closed in 1982; the last working mine, a baryte operation at Magcobar, followed in 1993. The tailings pond - 148 acres - became a legacy problem. Over €11 million has since been spent on rehabilitation. Mining records in the Silvermines area run from 1289 to 1993: 700 years in the same hills.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Knockanroe Woods loop Forest road and open hillside, views over the Silvermines area and Keeper Hill. Waymarked with purple arrows on yellow. The trailhead is 2.5 km south of Silvermines village on the approach from Dolla. Good waterproof boots - the open section can be soft.

4.1 kmdistance

1.5-2 hourstime

Silvermines Ridge (Knockanroe extended loop) The longer ridge route takes in the full Silvermines mountain range above the tree line - open, rough, and quiet. A serious walk. The views north to Lough Derg and south toward the Galtees earn the effort. Check conditions before starting - the upper section is unmarked.

18 km approx.distance

5-6 hourstime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The Knockanroe woods are good early in the year before the bracken grows in. Trout river in parish condition by April.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Long days and the hills are at their most accessible. Dolla itself does not overcrowd - it is not that kind of place.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The ridge walk in clear autumn light is the reason to be here. The Silvermines hills go orange and brown and no one else is on them.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

The upper ridge can be wet and trackless in poor weather. The Knockanroe loop is fine year-round if you are dressed for it.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Driving through without stopping

The crossroads looks like nothing. The hills behind it are 700 years of mining history and good walking. Pull in at the Eagles Nest, look at the map, go up.

The ridge walk in cloud

The upper section of the Silvermines ridge is unmarked and exposed. In poor visibility it is a navigation exercise, not a walk. The Knockanroe loop stays in the trees and is fine in any weather.

Getting there.

By car

Nenagh to Dolla is 8 km south on the R497 - about ten minutes. From Newport, take the R503 north toward Silvermines and the junction comes in from the west. No public transport serves the village.

By bus

No bus stops at Dolla. The nearest Bus Eireann services are in Nenagh (route 67, Dublin-Limerick expressway) or Newport. Dolla requires a car.