Discovery and Exploration
It was discovered in 1944, when a farmer named Jack McGann followed his dog who was chasing a rabbit. The farmer did not explore very far into the caves, and did not tell anyone of the find for nearly 30 years. He told cavers of the cave in 1973 and that summer the cave was explored as far as a boulder choke. Show cave development began quite soon after. The boulder choke was removed in 1977 and access was gained to the rest of the cave. The Marine Blast tunnel was completed in 1992 to allow a circular trip. The caves are now open daily from 9:30am throughout the year.
The caves appear in the Father Ted episode "The Mainland" under the name "The Very Dark Caves". They are also mentioned in a story in Part II of The Basset Chronicles by June J. McInerney.
Read more about this topic: Aillwee Cave
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