Aughinish, County Limerick

Aughinish
As seen from Kildysart.
Interactive map of Aughinish
Administration
Ireland

Aughinish is a former island (now peninsula) in the Shannon estuary, in County Limerick, Ireland, near Foynes.

Although most of the island is occupied by industry, it is also the site of Ireland's first butterfly sanctuary, located in an abandoned quarry.[1]

Industry

Aughinish Alumina, Europe's largest bauxite refinery, is located on the island.[2] Completed in October 1971,[3] the plant is owned by Rusal.[4] The site has a deep-water jetty in the Shannon[5] through which the refinery imports bauxite from Guinea and Brazil and exports alumina to be refined into aluminium metal.[2]

Adjacent to the refinery is a 450-acre disposal area for bauxite residue, also called "red mud".[3] While the High Court quashed planning permission awarded to expand the bauxite waste dump in 2022, and despite continued objections from local farmers and environment groups, a revised application to expand the disposal area was approved in 2025.[6]

In March 2026, an investigation carried out by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its partners found that the refinery indirectly supplies materials to sanctioned Russian arms manufacturers.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Nature Trails of Aughinish". Limerick City Council. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 Deegan, Gordon (8 October 2012). "Profits plunge 80pc at Aughinish Alumina". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 Collins, Kev (12 May 2020). A Very Irish Disaster. Kev Collins – via youtube.com.
  4. ↑ Gallagher, Conor (28 March 2026). "Russia-bound cargo ship seen dropping anchor near subsea cables off Irish coast". Irish Times. Retrieved 29 March 2026. Aughinish [Alumina] is owned by the Russian metals giant Rusal, which has extensive links to the Kremlin and the Russian defence sector
  5. ↑ "Top 1000: Limerick Alumina". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Murray, Sean (4 April 2025). "Aughinish Limerick plant gets go-ahead to expand waste disposal facility despite local objections". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  7. ↑ Moskowitz, Eli; Gagarin, Misha; Gercama, Ingrid; Gallagher, Conor (24 March 2026). "Inside the Supply Chain Funneling Irish Alumina to Russian Rockets". OCCRP. Archived from the original on 26 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Cunningham, Paul (29 March 2026). "Irish produced alumina indirectly used in Russian war effort 'very worrying'". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Goodley, Simon (24 March 2026). "Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.

52°37′19.46″N 9°3′54.11″W / 52.6220722°N 9.0650306°W / 52.6220722; -9.0650306

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