{"id":5456,"date":"2020-08-08T10:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T14:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5456"},"modified":"2020-08-08T10:49:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-08T14:49:49","slug":"episode-90-faarewell-to-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5456","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 90 FAAREWELL TO IRELAND"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Note: Error in Episode 90\u2026Ignore  my wage and bread calculations..woefully wrong.<\/div>\n

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Note 2:  All of these Episodes\u2026discursive for sure, jumping around\u2026all of them have<\/div>\n
been  written as stories  that might help the readers who are trapped  in isolation<\/div>\n
as Covid 19 wreaks  havoc with the world we once knew.  <\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
EPISODE  90   FAREWELL TO IRELAND…<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n
Stories about Bonmahon,  and the copper mines at Knockmahon and  Tankardstown<\/div>\n
must come to an end I suppose.   Readers reach a point of saturation no matter<\/div>\n
how enthusiastic the author remains.  If pushed I can write other Episodes <\/div>\n
about my 1960 Irish  adventure.  I might decide to do more myself.<\/div>\n

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Much will be left out and  that bothers me.  So let me leave you with a few parting<\/div>\n
comments from the mine children of Bonmahon.   Interviewed while sorting and<\/div>\n
crushing copper ore. (quotes thanks to Des Cowman)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Women and girl Workers in the copper ore sorting shed of  Bonmahon may<\/div>\n
have  loved similar to these women.   Clothing was ragged.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
These  children were American oyster shuckers pictured in the late 19th century.  The mining<\/div>\n
children of Bunmahon would, I think, have looked similar.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Thirteen year old  Helen Howke:<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 \u201cWe sit down at this work and lean on our elbows\u2026.I get<\/div>\n
fourpence (4d) per day.  We come to work at 6 o\u2019clock \u2026at half past eight the bell<\/div>\n
rings for breakfast\u2026we have half  an hour.  At one o\u2019clock the bell rings for dinner.<\/div>\n
We have an hour and then work till six o\u2019clock when the bell rings. In the winter<\/div>\n
we work as long a  light will permit.  We begin  at daylight and leave off when it<\/div>\n
gets  dark.   I had  potatoes  and a bit of fish for my dinner.  I go home for my meals<\/div>\n
but many have their dinners on  the works.\u201d  (She started work at 11 years of  age)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Margaret Gough, says she is \u201cabout 15 years old.<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have never been to school.  I can neither read nor write.  I have three brothers and<\/div>\n
five sisters.  They are all at home.  Two of them besides me work here.  We <\/div>\n
are very poor.  I  get paid  4d per day (guess that might be 10 cents) very regularly.<\/div>\n
I have no shoes or any other clothes than  theseI have on.   I can sew a little. I give<\/div>\n
my wages to my mother.\u201d <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Two boys, 10 and  11 years old<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSome  of us get a slap  on the head sometimes or a cut with a stick  when not<\/div>\n
attentive to our work\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Work  at Knockmahon was not as abusive as it sounds.  Mining copper was  less<\/div>\n
dangerous than working in the coal mines of the English  midlands.  Less danger<\/div>\n
of fire, silicosis, mining collapse, physical abuse.   The miners were well paid wen  <\/div>\n
incomes are  measured against other incomes in  19th century Ireland where<\/div>\n
poverty prevailed..  Likely most of the miners and<\/div>\n
their families hoped and prayed that the copper vein would extend deeper<\/div>\n
in the hinterland.   It did not.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Better to have a job at Knockmahon \u2026 either above or below  ground\u2026than<\/div>\n
to have no job at all.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
(Wages:  In 1850 \u2014 $100.00 was equal to $3,305.00 dollars today  in 2020<\/div>\n
or in other words  $1 in 1850 = $33 today  in 2020.<\/div>\n
Four pence in1850 = roughly 50 or 60 cents today in 2020, not a bad wage)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I  would like to congratulate Des Cowman for his research  skills that have<\/div>\n
put flesh and blood on the bones of the copper cliffs  of Bonmahon.  His<\/div>\n
work has also  done much to make the area of Knockmahon into a UNESCO<\/div>\n
GEOPARK where tourists can  imagine life in a 19th century mining community.<\/div>\n
Confused?   The villages  of Bonmahon and  Knockmahon are really one<\/div>\n
large village separated  by the Mahon River.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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<\/div>\n
VISITING IRELAND?   THE COPPER COAST HAS BECOME  A UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
-IT is even possible  to go underground and see the 19th century mining  operation<\/div>\n
at Knockmahon.<\/div>\n

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COPPER COAST ADVERTISED\u2026OPEN FOR TOURISTS NOW<\/div>\n

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\"Copper<\/p>\n
Copper Coastline IMAGE:GETTY IMAGES<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Copper Coast, in County Waterford<\/a>, is named after the historic metal-mining industry and is now a tourist attraction thanks to the geological history of the area from Palaeozoic volcanism to the last ice age.<\/h2>\n

In 2001 the area was declared a European Geopark. In 2004 it was named a UNESCO Global Geopark. The Copper Coast stretches 10.5 miles from Kilfarrasy to Stradbally.<\/a><\/p>\n

The region is known for its panoramic seascapes, cliffs, bays, and coves. In fact, the Copper Coast Road, the R675 stretching from Dungarvan to Tramore, is considered to be one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world. It\u2019s also known for it\u2019s beautiful, clean beaches such as Clonea and Bunmahon and the village of Bunmahon, Boatstrand, Dunhill, Annestown and Fenor. Tramore, the popular seaside resort, is the best known town along the Copper Coast, but it also has a wealth of \u201cundiscovered\u201d secluded coves and beaches.<\/p>\n

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