EPISODE 63 BUNMAHON, IRELAND, JUNE 18 TO JUNE 1960
alan skeoch
June 2020
Dunhill Castle…I think this is the castle attacked by Oliver Cromwell in 17th century. Ruins on way to Tramore from Bunmahon.
(as told to me by Mrs. Kennedy)
The Kennedy family who hosted us while we did the Turam survey in Bunmahon, Ireland. Gerald in the foreground
was a constant companion. Mrs Kennedy was the town leader.
Saturday June 18, 1960
“Got up at 8.00 a.m. Late. Out on job by 9, worked until 3 pm. extending base line
from 2400 to 7600 feet over and through some very rough patches of Gorse (Briar)
and Nettles. Herds of cattle at various places in he open gulches. Will cattle be
a problem? Unsure. John Stam and I had a discussion about the project. We returned
to the pub for lunch which included a 2 shilling bottle of Cidona (sparkling cider).
Returned to our rooms for a bath and also washed some clothes. Then changed
quickly for a drive to Tramore for games of miniature golf and an elaborate 5 course
dinner not including our beer. Cost 12 shillings, sixpence. Then carried on to
Waterford for Creme de Menthe and a movie (Carry on Nurse). Big time Saturday
night. Quite a contrast to my evenings in Dublin.”
One of the men we hired. Named John. Look at the greenery. Imagine trying to get through this with the Turam console. Often
these walls of green were made of Gorse (Brier)…thousands of needles.
Sunday, June 19, 1960
That is St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in distance….and ing line of row housing on the left. Housing may die back
to time when Bunmahon was thriving mining community of 2,000 people. Picture taken from ruin at back of Kennedy home where
we lived.
“Today i attended Mass for the first time in my life. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in
Bunmahon is a very simple kind of building that was once the Temperance Hall
back in 19th century when a spirited reformer persuaded the poor paid miners
to stop wasting their money on beer and whisky. Stam and Hogan are both
practising Catholics. We exchange points of view often in a friendly way.
Going to Mass was not exactly my idea. Bridey, our maid, arrived in my bedroom
this morning…ripped off the quilt…and firmly said “Time for Mass!” She would
not take no for an answer. The more I thought about the more I realized she
was correct. If we are going to work together in Bunmahon then Mass on
Sundays would help a lot. Not a very religious point of view I know that.
Played cards all afternoon then went to Kirwin’s pub for a pint. Stayed there
for some time then went for a walk along the sea shore which
comes right up to the back of the pub. Startled to find a huge cast iron
explosive mine that must have floated to the beach in World War I or World
War II. Empty of course. But huge.
World War II floating mine … empty. Sits on Bunmahon beach.
Talled tp Mrs/ Kemnedy about Dunhill castle which was stormed by
Oliver Cromwell way back in the 1660’s. She also got around to mentioning
the MacPhare group, a Canadian mining company that she said set
a bad example for Canadians. I think she liked us better…not carousing
around but spending spare time playing pinochle and miniature golf.
When she discovered I was a Presbyterian she said “a Presbyterian built
the new bridge across the Mohan river’ to which John Hogan responded
with “Christ that bridge will never last long.”
I am getting damn tired of playing pinochle every free moment.
But i guess that is better than spending time an money in Kirwin’s
like most of the local drinkers do. They really cannot afford it.
Joke I was told tonight: “A visitor asked When do pubs close?”
Irish response, “I don’t rightly know…think September”
Not so funny. The Irish do like telling stories and jokes. I rather
enjoy that although the dialect is sometimes hard to understand.
MONDAY JUNE 20, 1960
“Arose early and wrote Marjorie. Another Beautiful sunny day. We managed
to cover 12,000 feet of line. John Stam came with me. We now have
three local employees…Andy, John and Larry. Tough land today so
did not get as much done as we had hoped. Took over with Brunton
compass for first time. Worked right through lunch for first time…stopped
at 6 p.m. Returned to Bunmahon to get official notice from Arbuckle and
company to say Turam would arrive tomorrow. Stopped at pub for a beer
then home for a grand supper made by Mrs. Kennedy. I think she likes
having us in her house because we do not carouse around although
we do visit the pub of which I am sure she disapproves. Back to Kirwin’s
pub after supper and Mr. Kirwin showed me his collection of old
weapons.
A rather well off man arrived with his dog and a shotgun. Dog
took a fancy to me. Better the dog than the shotgun.
Four girls sit on the bench outside Kirwin’s each night.
They seem very interested.. We had another round of pinochle.
The village is coming alive as we are providing work for more
and more men. Terribly low wages. Embarrassingly so. How can
a man earning only a pound (about $2.50 to $3) a day afford to
drink a pint of Guinness regularly at the pub?
TUESDAY JUNE 21, 1960
THE TURAM FINALLY ARRIVED…LOTS OF CRATES.
Today I went to Waterford to get the crates of Turam equipment.
Hired the local publicans, Frank and Kevin, along with their
ancient Ford panel van. Picked up everything including gas and oil
then took the boys to a local pub for a drink. Bad decision because
the pub chosen was a political hangout. Did not feel welcome.
Strange to call Frank and Kevin ‘boys’ since they are twice my
age or more. Of course the word ‘boys’ here in Ireland is not
an age term. Unpacked the crates in the back shed
of the Kennedy store/farm (it is both). Shed has become my
office where the men meet every day before work. Hired two
men to help me clean out the shed and set up a kind of
shipping clerks desk. Andy Kirwin is so shy that he cannot
even speak to me. Tom Powell is the reverse. Not sure
which I prefer. John (Irish employee) returned after coiling
15,000 feet of insulared wire we had just laid down. Tangled
as a result.
Big rolls of single line insulated cable became our base line. This roll is mounted on a back pack. Some 15, 000 feet needed. Unfortunately
herds of cattle loved eating the cable. When generator was working and a cow or steer bit into the cable there was enough shock to knock
the animal down…or so I was told by local farmers irate at what was happening.
Wrote letter home after trying a new drink called a shandy…lemonade
and ale. Nice to have clean clothes to wear thanks to Bridey and
Mrs. Kennedy. Examined that big explosive mine on the Bunmahon
beach. Locals said it was from World War II
THE TURAM EXPLAINED
(Some readers may want an explanation)
Bill Morrison taught me how to set up and operate the Turam when we worked together
in Alaska…summer 1959. Once strapped into the Turam mobility was very limited. The
long white tube is filled with coiled copper wire…very heavy. Note the cable. My partner
keeps a100 foot separation . He also has a tube like mine. A heavy battery pack is attached
to my belt at the back. See if you can find my field note book.
In Alaska it was hopeless to run from a bear. In Ireland it was
super difficult to climb the stone fences covered with Gorse. Neeldes by the thousands.
Some readers may wonder “What on earth is a Turam?” I wondered the same thing when
sent to Alaska in the summer of 1959 with a 5 man “Turam” crew. That summer I learned
how to conduct a Turam survey which sounded very complicated. The practical side of
doing difficult tasks was easy. I did not have to know everything about the physics of the
Turam. All I had to do was copy down the correct readings at hundred feet stations
and then turn the numbers over to expert geophysicists who did the interpretation. Even
the interpretation was rather simple. We were looking for anomalies. High readings
that were unusual when compared to the background readings. In this way it was possible
to find areas of high conductivity as would happen if there was a big lump of chalcopyrite
beneath my feet. The Turam could detect such at depths as much as 400 feet
according to the manual.
There you have it. You are now an ‘instrument’ man or woman. (Not that simple…there
were lots of problems as you will see if you continue to read my Irish journal). Below
is the Wikipedia explanation of the Turam. It is a bit more complicated than my explanation.
No doubt my former boss, Dr. Norman Paterson, will be sending me corrections. He is
thriving and has recently written a fascinating book on our years of mining exploration
in which I had a very tiny part.
Book: MINING GEOPHYSICS: A CANADIAN STORY,
by Norman Reed Paterson, published by Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, 2019.
alan
Turam operating in an Irish grain field. I do not know if we paid for damages.
The Turam method is one of the oldest geophysical electro-magnetic methods used for mineral exploration, devised by Erik Helmer Lars Hedstrom in 1937.[1] Its name is derived from Swedish “TU” (two) and “RAM” (frame), referring to the two receiving coils.
Method[edit]
An insulated cable a few hundred meters to several kilometers long is laid parallel to the geological strike direction. The cable is either grounded at both ends or laid out in a large loop, and energized at low frequencies (less than 1 kHz). Two receiving coils are moved on lines outside of and perpendicular to the long side of the loop or grounded cable and two components of the resultant field are measured. The primary field generated by the large loop or cable interacts with the soil and subsoil and with a conductive body if present which could be a mineral and creates a resultant electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field is measured according to two values: the Field Strength Ratio and the Phase Difference occurring between the two receiving coils . It is a fixed source horizontal loop method. Separation of the two moving coils is usually from 10 to 30 metres. Using an AC bridge (also called compensator bridge), Field Strength Ratio is measured in percent and Phase Difference in degrees. In-phase (Real) and quadrature (Imaginary) values can be calculated from these data. Observed field strength ratio readings are used to calculate reduced ratios using a formula determined by the loop size and shape or the grounded wire length and the position of the receiving coils relative to the loop or grounded wire. The Turam method is a frequency domain method and in a way is the precursor of the time domain fixed loop methods. It is claimed to have detected large flat lying conductors to a depth of 400 metres.
Aside: I can drive a car even though I do not know the ins and outs of the internal combustion engine. Same as you. I also got to know that there was a master cylinder in our
old 1953 Meteor. This cylinder controlled the brakes. It was leaking so I had to pump the brake pedal a few times to get the car to slow down or stop. One day Marjorie was
driving the car as we headed for North Bay. We were getting very close to the car in front of us. “Better slow down now.” Marjorie did not know about the leaking master cylinder so kept
going. When really close she softly touched the brake. Nothing happened. “Forgot to tell you … master cylinder leaks ..needs pumping a bit.” Why tell you this? Because there
were always practical difficulties doing the Turam work. Like suddenly getting no readings. Was the machine broken? Nope. Problem was usually a cow in the next field who had
decided our yellow base line cable looked edible. Trouble shooting. Instrument men like me always faced problems that had a simple answer. Marjorie’s comment…”Why did you
not tell me?” “Forgot…did not cross my mind…I thought you knew.” Driving a broken down car and operating a 1937 invented Turam required practical skills. Simple skills.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1960
ONE end of our base line. Motor Generator behind the rocky outcrop. Not sure this was best place to drive in grounding rods but
it worked fine. Needed a man to make sure motor did not run out of gas while we were miles away with instruments. Sorry the picture
is backwards. The Irish government insisted we have that Danger sign made in both languages.
Rose early and packed the cable in our Fiat. Drove to site we had chosen and then laid
out our first base line…14,500 feet long…nearly 3 miles. Very rough going at times. Installed
the motor generator near ocean located grounding rods. Pounded in grounding rods at
both ends of the cable. Them Moment of truth arrived. Damn motor generator would not start.
It was the gas. Took some time to figure that out…needed regular gas. I did not know
what the hell was wrong but managed to bluff my way through while being watched by
our new employees lounging along the cliff top. New men…Andy and Tom.
Today I saw my first Irish Hare. Magnificent runner. In the evening Hogan and Stam
discussed the issue of the local Catholic priest. Do not know why. Then back to pinochle.
THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1960
Late getting up after stress of yesterday. Drove to generator and did a few tests
with the tachometer. Base line cable broken in three places. Thousand feet
from generator. Why broken? Likely cattle or foxes or rabbits. Chewing the attractive
yellow insulation. Repaired. Also made repairs to switch box operating at 660 c/p/s frequency.
Spent whole day explaining jobs to new crew. Not so easy. Discovered that Willy cannot count
and Larry can’t read. Of course they did not tell me that. Why would they? Feared losing
their jobs. We only managed to do two lines. Lines run at right angles to the base line.
Each line is marked with pickets every 100 feet.where readings are taken. Our Lines
can extend as far as 3,000 feet out from the base line.
Discovered an old…ancient…bridge buried in a clothing of Ivy.
Plotted results in the evening. We had located two anomalies. Surprised to do so.
Received a nice long letter from Marjorie who seems to be having a grand time in Canada.
Then we went down to the pub as usual. The owner insisted on treating us Probably
felt we were really good for his business.
END EPISODE 63 BUNMAHON, IRELAND