{"id":4926,"date":"2020-06-17T18:36:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T22:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4926"},"modified":"2020-06-17T18:38:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T22:38:29","slug":"fwd-episode-67-bunmahon-ireland-we-csn-crawl-into-the-old-mine-through-a-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4926","title":{"rendered":"Fwd: EPISODE 67 BUNMAHON, IRELAND “WE CSN CRAWL INTO THE OLD MINE THROUGH A HOLE”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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EPISODE 67   BUNMAHON , IRELAND\u201d \u201cWE CAN CRAWL INTO THE OLD MINE THROUGH A HOLE\u201d<\/p>\n


<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
UNDERGROUND WITH BARNEY DWAN<\/div>\n


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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
June 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n
BARBET  DWAN\u2026\u201dI KNOW HOW  TO GET INTO THE OLD MINE”<\/div>\n


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<\/div>\n
THE  RUINS OF THE KNOCKMAHON MINE<\/div>\n


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<\/div>\n
THE HOLE BARNEY FOUND\u2026LED INTO THE OLD MINE<\/div>\n

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\u201cI know where there\u2019s a hole.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA hole ?”<\/div>\n
\u201cYes,, a hole in the cliff.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSo we can squeeze through the hole and get into the old mine.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou must be kidding, Barney\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo,  I\u2019ve crawled  into the hole many times.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCuriosity.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCan you take me there?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure, this Saturday if you want.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
SATURDAY JULY 23,1960<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Note:  Saturday July 23, 1960, I was told  by Barney Dawn that it was<\/div>\n
possible tp squeeze through an old adit (an air vent) and actually enter<\/div>\n
te Knockmaon mine.   This event was a climax point in the Bunmahon<\/div>\n
adventure.   I had a choice.  Take a risk and enter the mine.  Or<\/div>\n
play  it safe and  do  nothing other than our surface work.  I chose<\/div>\n
the risk taking venture.  Why?  Because I was 21 years old\u2026young<\/div>\n
and foolish.  Adventure seeking.  Crawling through that air vent<\/div>\n
was not part of my job so, at first,  Barney, Andy and I did  it on evenings<\/div>\n
or Sundays.  Later both John Hogan and Dr. John Stam decided<\/div>\n
to get involved in underground exploration when we were made<\/div>\n
aware of a legend lost cow in an old mine entrance inland from<\/div>\n
the sea.   The results of that venture were startling.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So I have decided to give these ventures special consideration\u2026and<\/div>\n
a special heading.   A question for you to think about: Would you crawl<\/div>\n
through that hole in the cliff face?   Would you do it when you were 21?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
GOING UNDERGROUND WITH BARNEY <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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That\u2019s Barney Dwan relaxing on the cliffs he knew so well.  Just above him, almost invisible, is the entrance to our first underground<\/p><\/div>\n

mine adventure.
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<\/div>\n

\u201cSee the hole up there?\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cLooks like a break in the cliff face.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe can crawl in there quite a distance but<\/div>\n
we\u2019ll need flashlights.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd  maybe candles just in case the air turns bad.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd hard hats in case of trouble.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTrouble?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThere are places  where the ceiling has collapsed..we may  <\/div>\n
have to crawl over the rubble\u2026some might be loose.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBarney, let\u2019s just keep our options open\u2026if we find  a collapse we can<\/div>\n
back our way out.   If we crawl over a collapse then escape is less likely<\/div>\n
in case of trouble.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFine.  Only one touchy area and I\u2019ve squeezed over it several times.  Safe<\/div>\n
I would  say.\u201d<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n
Initially John Stam and john Hogan were not aware of  the mine adits.  When  they discovered we could check  out anomalies<\/div>\n
easier than digging trenches they became interested.  Which  led to the legend of cow (still to come).<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
(And so it began.  Exploration of a different sort.  I did not make a big deal  of our<\/div>\n
plan to Dr. Stam or John Hogan.  Sort of a casual mention about an old mine adit<\/div>\n
perhaps\u2026\u201dhalfway  up the cliff  face directly below the mine ruins\u201d.  Working underground<\/div>\n
in abandoned  mines was not a new experience.  I spent a couple of weeks  underground<\/div>\n
at Can Met uranium  mine at Elliot Lake.  That was exciting especially when our<\/div>\n
flashlights were turned off.   Darkness like I  had  never seen before.  \u201cSeen\u201d is the wrong<\/div>\n
word.  We got down deep in the mine using an elevator though.  In mining parlance the term<\/div>\n
is \u2018cage\u2019 which has a foreboding ring to it. a stope as ceiling bolts gave way and a ceiling<\/div>\n
collapsed.  Never close to us though. The pillars had been pulled as the mine was vacated.<\/div>\n
Yes, disconcerting.  But Underground at Can Met there gave us<\/div>\n
lots of room.  Room enough for mining machines to move along the passageways.  Like a <\/div>\n
highway.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
In the Yukon we found some old mine workings that were hand dug but never really deep.<\/div>\n
Inside the walls were protected from collapse because the  overburden was frozen deep enough.<\/div>\n
That job was exciting in its own way.  Gold dust could be panned  and a few specks I sent<\/div>\n
to Marjorie on strips of black electric tape.  More interesting to me on that job was the presence<\/div>\n
of mastodon or hairy mammoth tusks and  bones.   The owner of Dublin Gulch had a pile of them leaning against his<\/div>\n
cabin.  He gave me a mammoth  tooth about the size of a baseball glove.  Somebody stole it my first<\/div>\n
year teaching at Parkdale C.I.<\/div>\n

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Underground at Knockmahon was considerably more intimidating because we could not stand up.<\/div>\n
At times we walked hunched over.  At other times we crawled on all fours.  And, one, just once,<\/div>\n
we squeezed on our stomachs through an area where the tunnel (the adit) had collapsed.  Squeezed is the <\/div>\n
right word as  you can see in the picture.  Just enough room to get to the other side.<\/div>\n

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I am not sure how far we got.   Perhaps to one of the vertical shafts.   At least I think that<\/div>\n
was what we found.  We  were crawling along the horizontal adit and came upon a larger<\/div>\n
shaft that went straight down vertically.   There was an old mine ladder lying across <\/div>\n
the shaft which we crawled over.  Sounds dangerous but the danger was minimal because<\/div>\n
the shaft was filled with water.  The water was clear as  daylight in Our flashlight beams.<\/div>\n

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I think this shaft went down deep.  Perhaps 300 meters.  A long way down.  At the bottom<\/div>\n
there would be passageways  that went under the Atlantic Ocean for some distance according<\/div>\n
to mine records  at neighbouring Tankardstown Mine.   Pumps were installed to try and<\/div>\n
keep the mine dry.  Sort of dry.  When mining was abandoned in the 1870\u2019s the ocean<\/div>\n
flooded all the deep workings.   (P.S.  A video has been made of the passageways and stopes<\/div>\n
of the Tankardstown mine.  Just search he internet.)<\/div>\n

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This  ladder crosses the deep  shaft in the mine that bottomed  out about 300 meter below.  We used the ladder to cross<\/div>\n
the shaft.  It was not as  dangerous as  it looked because the shaft was filled with crystal clear water.   We could swim across if<\/div>\n
we so desired.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Barney, Andy and I crossed he shaft and continued deeper into the mine where we found<\/div>\n
some abandoned  mine tools\u2026shovels I seem to remember.  I think we reached the main<\/div>\n
shaft through which the ore was lifted but I cannot be sure.  That was a long time ago.<\/div>\n
Five years later, in 1965, I brought Marjorie and my brother to Bunmahon and  we crawled<\/div>\n
back in this adit for a short way.  I think we stopped where the roof had collapsed.  By then<\/div>\n
Marjorie had backed out remarking \u201cThis is crazy,\u201d or some similar remark.  She climbed<\/div>\n
down the seashore and waited for Eric and I to emerge.  There was one terrible stink<\/div>\n
where Marjorie sat on a rock.  A big dead pig had floated in from the sea  or fallen off<\/div>\n
the cliff.   Marjorie did not smell a thing because she was so worried  we would  never<\/div>\n
emerge.<\/div>\n

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Below the cliffs were the broken bodies of  animals that fell.<\/div>\n

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This adit was remarkably beautiful inside.  In many places the walls were green from<\/div>\n
Oxidized chalcopyrite    In other place a deep  dark blue.  And  still others were pinkish.<\/div>\n
Samples have been removed  and photographed by the Copper Coast tourist promoters<\/div>\n
and displayed today (2020) since the site has become attractive to the general public.<\/div>\n
It is even possible to go deep in the mine on escorted tours that must provide access  from<\/div>\n
the main  shaft area.  I am not sure if the mine has been drained but doubt it.  That would<\/div>\n
cost too much  money for the limited  number of people that might be interested.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
In 1960, when Barney and I got out of the adit, I told Dr. Stam  and John Hogan<\/div>\n
about the colours on the adit walls.   They tried  to see if the old adit linked up with<\/div>\n
some of the anomalies  we found.   We were already hiring crews to dig surface<\/div>\n
trenches to check  out anomalies.  Barney\u2019s \u2018secret\u2019 tunnels did the same thing with<\/div>\n
less effort.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAny more adits along the coast, Barney?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes.  There are two big ones almost directly behind  Kirwin\u2019s pub.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSafe?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThink so\u2026people once hid out in one of them.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHid?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTime of the Trouble in the 1920\u2019s\u2026IRA men  lived there\u2026stored<\/div>\n
their weapons in one of them.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWho knows about them?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cEveryone knows but they do not tell strangers.”<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s take a look.\u201d<\/div>\n

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Can you find the adit holes here?<\/div>\n

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This was an entrance at sea level.<\/div>\n

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Almost beside Bunmahon beach there was a huge gouge<\/div>\n
in the rock.  Sort of a cave.   At the end of the cave was a<\/div>\n
hole about five feet from the ground.  Small hole.  Smaller than<\/div>\n
the other adit.   Not far inside it opened into a larger<\/div>\n
room and then continued horizontally.  We did  not go<\/div>\n
much  deeper because the second  adit was  much  more<\/div>\n
interesting according to Barney.So  we moved along to<\/div>\n
another, larger hole, about 6 feet above the ocean.  High enough that<\/div>\n
the storm waves would not be a problem.<\/div>\n

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Here are three entrances.  The second  from bottom was the entrance we used lest the<\/div>\n
sea tide flood the other while we were inside.<\/div>\n

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\u201cWow!  The adit leads  into this  large open room\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAngled room\u2026piles  of broken rock\u2026with some kind<\/div>\n
of iron machinery at the bottom\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s down there?\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMay have been an ore crusher\u2026not sure what is down at the bottom.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs the place stable?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know.  Want to try to cross over\u2026.the adit continues on the other side.?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026but slowly\/\u201c<\/div>\n

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(We had entered to large room about midway up the wall.  In front of us was<\/div>\n
jumble of rocks with a 45 degree slope.  To reach the adit on the other side<\/div>\n
we had to cross this talus  slope.  We did  so  carefully.  But not careful enough.)<\/div>\n

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\u201cDamn\u2026damn\u2026damn\u2026the rocks are moving\u2026the whole<\/div>\n
slope is tumbling down\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cStand still\u2026do not move.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTrouble. Can we turn around?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMovement is slowing down.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTurn around\u2026see if we can get back to the adit.\u201d<\/div>\n

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(We made it back.   The rock  slide had taken us  down a few<\/div>\n
feet before the ricks  got hung up. )<\/div>\n

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\u201cLet\u2019s get out of here.  Is this the IRA  hideout?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSo I was  told.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOn the other side of the loose rock.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cis this your first time in here, Barney?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.  But first time I tried to cross the boulders.”<\/div>\n
\u201cAre you putting me on, Barney?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust saying what I was  told.  Apparently they <\/div>\n
lived here\u2026even had  a stovepipe hole to let smoke<\/div>\n
of  cooking and fireplace out above.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOn the other side of the rock slope?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow did  they get across  when we could not?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBeas me.  I do not know.\u201d<\/div>\n

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(That was  the end of seascape explorations.    Are the holes<\/div>\n
sealed  up  now?  Probably. But I do not know. Tourists who want to <\/div>\n
enter Knockmahon mine must have an escort and  prior booking.<\/div>\n
Barney Dwan is no loner available.    But Barney\u2019s influence on<\/div>\n
our project was not over yet.  His  biggest contribution came one<\/div>\n
day when I mentioned we had a big anomaly up a boreen (valley)<\/div>\n
about a mile or two North West of Bunmahon.)<\/div>\n

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Trenches were done at several locations just to check out the geology beneath anomalies<\/div>\n
we discovered with the Turam.<\/div>\n

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\u201cWell. Master Skeoch, there is a story about that place.. Once<\/div>\n
around 1900 there was a mine opening dug into the hill.  But<\/div>\n
it\u2019s not there anymore because the farmer lost a cow in the<\/div>\n
mine so he had the opening covered up with dirt and rocks<\/div>\n
Now it\u2019s overgrown with gorse and brush but I can show you<\/div>\n
the spot.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cJohn, we got big anomaly over there, Barney<\/div>\n
says there was once a min opening.  Legend  about<\/div>\n
a lost cow.  Is it worth checking out.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMay as well. \u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cChasing a legend?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s do it\u2026Get one of the boys to dig there\u2026will take<\/div>\n
a few days\u2026may prove nothing.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cDig here\u2026clear the brush and dig straight into<\/div>\n
the hill for few feet\u2026see  what you can find.\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust me?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cyes,  you will likely find nothing\u2026then again you<\/div>\n
might find a mine opening\u2026maybe even a dead cow.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
(We all found this venture quite amusing.  But there was an <\/div>\n
anomaly \u2026 and  a  legend.   We did not hear anything for<\/div>\n
two or three days.  Then one of the men came to the Kennedy<\/div>\n
house.\u201d<\/div>\n

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Legend had it that a  cow disappeared in this  old  mine adit (horizontal mine opening).   The legend<\/div>\n
led us into one of the great adventures  of the job.<\/div>\n

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After 3 or 4 days the mine had  drained enough for us to enter.  John  Hogan and Barney Dwan with flashlight.<\/div>\n

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Other animals seemed to have been trapped here as well.  But where was the cow?<\/div>\n
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In the still air of a century, crystals had time to form.<\/div>\n

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Timbering was OK\u2026not great, but OK.<\/div>\n

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Most of the legendary mine was slathered  with this material.<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe hit something big.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d Where?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDigging job up he boreen\u2026explosive.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cExplosive?\u201d <\/div>\n
\u201cHe was  digging when suddenly a river of water blasted  out\u2026scared<\/div>\n
him badly.  He ran.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen will he show up for his<\/div>\n
money yet.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe will.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMust have been quite a scene\u2026shoving the shovel blade into<\/div>\n
the slil \u2026 then a blast of water under pressure.<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat will we do?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet the shaft drains for a day or so\u2026then we\u2019ll all  go up there<\/div>\n
and take a look.\u201d<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
(Everyone was interested  in the discovery.  We walked inside a few<\/div>\n
days  later.  A lot of muck.  Deep rust colour.  Some crystals that had<\/div>\n
formed in the stillness of a century.  And best of all, we found the cow.  She<\/div>\n
had got wedged in the tunnel\u2026her hips.  She could  not get<\/div>\n
out and there she was. Her bones told the story\u2026confirmed the legend.)<\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

And, sure  enough, there was the cow.  Her hip bones must have got caught.  And there she died.  <\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
END EPISODE  67    UNDERGROUND WITH BARNEY DWAN<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 67   BUNMAHON , IRELAND\u201d \u201cWE CAN CRAWL INTO THE OLD MINE THROUGH A HOLE\u201d UNDERGROUND WITH BARNEY DWAN alan skeoch June 2020 BARBET  DWAN\u2026\u201dI KNOW HOW  TO GET INTO THE OLD MINE” THE  RUINS OF THE KNOCKMAHON MINE THE HOLE BARNEY FOUND\u2026LED INTO THE OLD MINE \u201cI know where there\u2019s a hole.\u201d \u201cA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}