Cliffs, sea stacks and coves of the Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark near Bunmahon, Co. Waterford

Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark

Cupán C

Coffee by the sea.

Bunmahon, Co. Waterford
Come Find Us

A destination café

Some places are worth the drive.

Cupán C is Celine's café in Bunmahon, a small, family run spot where the coffee is excellent, the welcome is genuine, and the view out the door is the Copper Coast.

People travel out here for the beach, the cliffs, the engine houses and the walks. We want Cupán C to be the reason you slow down once you arrive, the place you come back to for a second cup, a warm lunch, or an ice cream before the road home.

It is local first. A café for the village, for the morning swimmers, the local families and the families passing through, and for anyone who has just discovered that Bunmahon is one of the most beautiful corners of Ireland.

Cliffs, cove and sea stacks on the Copper Coast near Bunmahon, County WaterfordSunset over the sea from the Copper Coast, County Waterford

Our story

Built around family.

Cupán C is Celine's café, but it has always been a family project.

We're raising our young family here on the Copper Coast, and the idea behind Cupán C was wonderfully simple: create the kind of place we'd love to have on our own doorstep.

Somewhere warm. Somewhere children are genuinely welcome. Somewhere locals can make part of their routine and visitors can stumble across on a drive along the coast and immediately want to tell somebody else about.

Our family will be part of everyday life here. You'll see us around the café, and there's a very good chance you'll see our children too.

We aren't interested in making Cupán C overly polished or complicated. We want it to have character. We want it to be generous. We want people to walk through the door and immediately feel comfortable.

And above all, we want to create something special here in Bunmahon, something that belongs to this little village and this extraordinary stretch of coastline.

Main Street in Bunmahon village, Co. WaterfordPath through the dune grass down to Bunmahon beachKnockmahon and the Mahon valley seen from the old coastguard station

The coffee

Coffee worth travelling for.

Coffee isn't an afterthought at Cupán C. It's one of the reasons to come.

We serve Pónaire, a small Irish roastery hand roasting coffee in County Tipperary since 2006. Irish owned, women led and fiercely independent, Pónaire sources beans from trusted farms and regions around the world, then roasts them in small batches so every cup lands fresh, full of character and roasted with purpose.

It's coffee with a conscience too, ethically and sustainably sourced by people who genuinely care about what's in the bag. And yes, it has picked up awards along the way, from rich, full bodied blends to single origins with notes of dark cherry, caramel and chocolate.

We chose Pónaire because if we're going to serve coffee beside one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Ireland, what's in the cup needs to live up to what's outside the window.

Expect beautifully made:

  • Flat whites
  • Cappuccinos
  • Lattes
  • Americanos
  • Espressos
  • Iced coffees
  • Seasonal specials

Whether you're sitting in or taking yours down towards the beach, great coffee is at the heart of Cupán C.

Natural sea arch cut into the rock on the Copper Coast, Co. Waterford

Food at Cupán C

Simple food. Done really well.

The strand at Bunmahon looking west along the Copper Coast

We don't believe a café menu needs to be enormous to be memorable. We'd rather serve a smaller selection of things we genuinely love.

Great bread and sourdough. Generously filled sandwiches. Fresh lunch options. Beautiful pastries. Cookies. Traybakes. Chocolate treats. Nostalgic favourites. And plenty of things for little hands to reach for too.

The counter will evolve with the seasons, what we can get our hands on and whatever we're particularly excited about that week. Some things will stay. Some things will disappear. And hopefully there'll always be something on the counter that makes you say: “I'll have one of those as well.”

Boardwalk through the dunes to Bunmahon beach with the Copper Coast cliffs in the distance

And when the sun comes out?

Ice cream by the sea is practically compulsory. Expect soft serve, toppings, sauces, specials and plenty of reasons for another trip to Bunmahon during the warmer months.

The Cornish engine houses at Tankardstown copper mine standing above the sea at Bunmahon

A UNESCO Global Geopark

A coastline written in volcanoes, copper and salt.

Bunmahon sits at the centre of the Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark, roughly 25km of Waterford coastline between Kilfarrasy and Stradbally where the geology is not hidden away in a museum but standing in the cliffs, folded, tilted and coloured by copper. Here's the short version of how it got here.

  1. c. 460 million years ago

    Volcanoes and an ancient ocean

    The rock beneath Bunmahon began life as lava, ash and sediment on the floor of the Iapetus Ocean. Those layers, folded and tilted by the collision of continents, are what you're standing on today.

  2. 1820s to 1870s

    The copper years

    The mines at Knockmahon and Tankardstown made this quiet valley one of Ireland's great copper districts. At its height well over a thousand people, men, women and children, worked the shafts, dressing floors and boats that carried ore out of the cove.

  3. Late 19th century

    Silence, and emigration

    When copper prices collapsed the mines closed, and Bunmahon's miners took their skills to Michigan, Montana and Australia. The Cornish engine houses on the cliff at Tankardstown were left standing over the sea.

  4. 2001 · 2015

    A geopark on your doorstep

    The coastline was recognised as a European Geopark and later carried the UNESCO Global Geopark label, 25km of cliffs, coves and mining heritage from Kilfarrasy to Stradbally, with Bunmahon at its heart.

Panorama of the Copper Coast cliffs and coves in County WaterfordAfternoon light on the headlands of the Copper CoastThe ruined Cornish engine house and chimney at Tankardstown copper mine, Bunmahon

The Geopark visitor centre is in the old church in the village, a few minutes from our door, and the walking routes out to Tankardstown, Ballydowane and Kilmurrin start practically at the end of the street.

We're not a museum. But we do think a place is better when you know what you're looking at, so ask us where to go, and we'll point you at the good bits.

A day on the Copper Coast

Make a morning of it. Then stay for the evening.

  1. 08:00

    Coffee before anyone else is up

    Pónaire in a cup, the door open, the Mahon river running out to the sea behind you.

  2. 09:30

    Down to the beach

    A kilometre of sand and dune at Bunmahon. Swim, walk the tideline, or just watch the Atlantic do its thing.

  3. 11:30

    Up to the engine houses

    The cliff walk to Tankardstown: two roofless Cornish engine houses, wildflowers, and a drop straight into the sea.

  4. 14:00

    Over to Ballydowane

    Red cliffs, sea stacks and one of the most photographed coves on the Copper Coast, ten minutes west.

  5. 17:00

    Ice cream, then the light goes gold

    Back to us for something sweet, then out to the headland for the sunset. Nobody leaves on time.

Grab a coffee. Take a walk. Find the beach. Explore the coast. Come back for something sweet.

A quiet cove and sea stack on the Copper Coast at low tide
Grass-topped cliffs above the sea near BunmahonThe west end of Bunmahon beach and the dunes

Our home

A café for locals first, and everyone else who finds us.

Destination cafés are wonderful. But Cupán C has to belong to Bunmahon.

We want to know the regular orders. We want children growing up remembering getting ice creams here. We want the morning walkers, swimmers and locals calling in without thinking twice about it.

And then we want visitors discovering exactly what we already know: Bunmahon is somewhere worth making the journey for.

If Cupán C can give you one more reason to come, and one more reason to stay, we'll be very happy.

Green headland and sea stacks on the Copper Coast near Bunmahon

Opening hours

Come say hello.

May to August

7 days a week

8:00am to 6:00pm

September to April

Thursday to Sunday

9:00am to 3:00pm

Opening hours may occasionally change around holidays, weather or special events. Check our socials for the latest.

Bunmahon · Copper Coast

Find us by the sea.

Cupán C
Bunmahon
Copper Coast
Co. Waterford
Ireland

We're just moments from Bunmahon Beach, in the heart of the Copper Coast UNESCO Global Geopark.