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[ Metal in Early Historic Times ] [ Len the Smith ] [ 18th Century Mining in Killarney ] [ Rudolf Raspe ] [ Weaver Map ] [ Mining At Muckross ] [ An Industrial Venture ] [ Thomas Weaver ] [ The Mining Companies ] [ Mines in Killarney ]

One colourful character associated with the Killarney mines in the 18th century was the famous German mineralogist and writer Rudolf Raspe (1737-94). Author of The Fabulous Adventures of the Baron von Munchausen (published in 1785), Raspe had previously fled Germany under a financial scandal, travelling to England where he worked as a mineral consultant. At the invitation of Thomas Herbert he arrived in Killarney in late 1793, to advise on the mines at Muckross, Cahirnane, and possibly Ross Island. He died here of scarlet fever in 1794 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Killegy.