So it’s done.
Finally.
“Three Miles Over and Three miles Down” is a radio documentary project that took form a few years ago but in reality started in the summer of June 2009 when I interviewed former Castlecomer miner and author, Séamus Walsh. Back then, I was producing and presenting a show called People In Profile, a weekly programme that had me interview people in a one to one setting with guests sharing their stories and their musical selections.
It was a lovely format, unexpected for me (my previous radio work has been music only), but something I look back on with pride. Most weeks I brought someone in to the studio, asked them essentially impertinent questions and shared their favourite musical choices. I’m being a bit flippant here. It was one of the most rewarding times in my radio career and, with the support of the guests and colleagues in KCLR, it ran for almost 10 years, all told. Hundreds of people, some well known with national profiles, most not known outside their communities, but local heroes every one, sharing their personal stories. Surprising, funny, insightful, harrowing, we ran the gamut of emotions. My guests spoke freely, with almost no subject off limits, little editing, nothing rehearsed. All have stuck with me, some I’ve re-broadcast on sad occasions, sent to relatives, memories of special moments for me and hopefully the guest in question. I was happy to have been a part of it.
In 2009, a book was published called “In The Shadow Of The Mines”, written by Castlecomer man Séamus Walsh. I made contact as I would occasionally would, on the recommendation of Sue Nunn, my colleague in KCLR, someone with great journalistic wisdom and insight. Séamus came in to the studio and he told his own story but also shared the stories of the men and women of the mining community where he lived and worked. He spoke clearly, passionately, with great energy and conviction about the lives of the men who worked up to three miles below ground and whose livelihoods stopped in 1969 when the mines closed finally. He spoke about the hardships, the illnesses, the camaraderie, the laughs and the tears of that way of working. It was one of the most affecting of the many stories I had recorded. People texted as the show finished, asking for it to be repeated, which we did the following week. Séamus remained humble throughout, telling me that the stories were all there and that someone had to tell them; he just happened to have the time to write them down, initially building on work done by his father, another proud miner.
His stories stayed with me for many years (maybe too many in retrospect) but I wasn’t in a position to do much at the time. In 2014 I applied to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under their Sound And Vision Scheme, for funding to tell the stories. While I got a very positive reaction I wasn’t successful at that time. In 2016, my colleague Monica Hayes, herself an award winning documentary maker, spoke about to me about reviving the project and with the full support of our station CEO, John Purcell, we set about re-applying. We removed things, moved things, shortened things, re-imagined things and in January 2017 I was successful in the application.
Some personal and health issues left me with little time that year but in 2018 I set about telling the stories of the men (who often travelled three miles over and three miles down) and their families.
Chief among the tasks was getting to interview the remaining men and women. This was not going to be a lecture or one person (with no direct experience) telling someone else’s story. We had to hear from the people remaining who had been down or around the mines, the miners (all men), their wives, sons and daughters, the people who worked alongside them, who ran the businesses that supplied or were supplied by them, the owners of the mines who gave employment and the businesses and communities impacted by the mines. I lost some opportunities, found new and unexpected ones and accepted that at some point I had to go with what I had. I wasn’t going to be allowed to use archive material so while I could use it for research purposes, this had to be original material and recordings.
It was a big thing to start but I was helped along the way at key moments; advice, guidance, introductions, suggestions, research material, contacts. Each of the interviews were arranged and once again, these personal interactions took shape.
You impose in a very personal way when you interview someone, often in their own homes, you ask personal questions, asking people to remember things they may have chosen to forget or thought not worthy of discussion.
I discovered very quickly that many of the men who worked in the mines didn’t speak freely with anyone outside their immediate circle. Many of the family members I spoke with simply had no idea what their relatives did. Sometimes the ‘pit talk’ was partially understood by publicans but mostly the men worked, dropped off for a pint perhaps, played sport with their workmates and swapped work stories but then most went to their homes and spoke little. I found out subsequently that some of the people I interviewed had never spoken to anyone about what they shared with me. This was something I hope I understood at all times and that I did everything I could to treat these stories with respect for them and their families.
Local historians filled in contexts, geologists and archaeologists filled in the (literal and physical) deep history and pre-history of the Castlecomer mines; social historians found stories and folklore and have written these many stories, preserving them for future generations. The wives and daughters shared their family stories, exchanged memories. Each person interviewed was heard in the programmes, whether as a long form contributor or someone who captured a moment with brevity and clarity.
I hope I did them justice. I hate the prospect of naming names and running the risk of forgetting someone, so with that in mind here are the names of the people who appeared across the five programmes, roughly in the order in which they appeared. Some were in each programme, some just succinctly contributing in one, all adding their voices to making the story come to life on radio.
Words can’t truly express my gratitude but I thank them here as best as I can and will on every occasion that comes.
The full list contributors is as follows, in roughly the order in which the appeared in the programmes:
Séamus O’Connor (local historian who perfectly set the scene), Siobhán Power (a Geologist who explained the rich geological history of the Leinster Coalfield), Matthew Parkes (a Palaeontologist from the Natural History Museum who shared the fascinating history of the fossils found in Castlecomer), Jonathan Mason (historian and developer of the Discovery Park Exhibitions), Geoffrey Prior-Wandesforde (keeper of the Wandesforde family archives and relative of the mine owners that established mining in the 1640s), Máire Downey, Ph.D (historian and provider of invaluable contributions to root the story in a historical context throughout), James Murphy (local historian with a keen interest in the many mining stories, whose farm contains many ancient traces of ancient mining), Errol Delaney (whose family provided transport to the coalmines and was instrumental in the establishment of the Castlecomer Discovery Park), Mick Brennan-Roe (Miner, whose quiet power lay in his ability to recall his life under and over ground), Theresa Farrell (Miner’s Daughter, whose memories of her family provide one of many heart stopping moments), Séamus Walsh (Miner and keeper of many of the stories of the miners and without whom this project would never have gotten off the ground at all, keeper of many stories), Willie Joe Meally (social historian and member of the Clogh Writer’s Group, who also made valuable introductions and connections), Frankie Mealy (whose family had a pub in the area and heard much ‘pit talk’), Timmy Wilson (Miner, who spoke of his life in mining and in sport), Larry Power (one of the last Miners to mine in Castlecomer and the Leinster Coalfield who shared his incisive opinions on life under and over ground), Peter Kealy (probably the last Miner in the Leinster Coalfield who shared stories and harrowing testimony to the fate of many miners with silicosis), Seán Mansfield (former publican and keeper of stories and keen hoarder of pit talk), Nancy Geoghegan (Miner’s Daughter, poet and member of the Clogh Writer’s Group), Mai Dormer (Miner’s Daughter, poet and holder of many stories of the Mining women and their hugely important role in the communities around the mines) John Coffey (former publican and keeper of a crucial photo archive of the mines and the community around it), Angela Byrne-Geoghegan (Miner’s Daughter who pieced together her memories of her fathers time in the mines), Chrissie Walsh (Miner’s Daughter, later wife to Séamus and a key member of the group that fought successfully for compensation for the Miners), Nellie Holden (Miner’s Daughter whose harrowing story of her father’s injuries show the real and present danger of life underground), Anna Creedon (Miner’s Daughter who shared her childhood memories), Mary Brennan Campion (Miner’s Daughter, another valuable contributor on mine life and the women’s story), Mary Brennan (Miner’s Daughter who spoke about the shared moments of the community), Teresa Brennan (Miner’s Daughter, a succinct and incisive contributor), Anna May Treacy (one of the oldest living residents of Castlecomer who told of the influence them Miners had on the wider community), Anne Boran (daughter of the legendary union organiser Nicholas “Nixie” Boran who told me of the struggle her father and his comrades undertook for most of the 20th century for better conditions and who ultimately fought alongside the Wandesforde family to keep the mine open and fought again for the economy of Castlecomer), Maurice Shortall (Miner’s son and part of the group seeking compensation for Miners), Michael Conway (Consultant Cardiologist, who gave vital medical assistance and expert witness during the campaign for compensation), Margaret McGrath (former teacher and keeper of many valuable social history of the miners and their families) and Kathy Purcell (Manager at the Castlecomer Discovery Park, keeping the progress of a community led social enterprise development and who provided access to the exhibitions and source material along the way).
Many people were supportive and encouraging in the research stages. Castlecomer dynamo Chubby Brennan was always at the end of a phone. Willie Joe Meally and Séamus Walsh provided much needed introductions and encouragement all through the project. Maurice Shortall gave the radio broadcasts much needed publicity in the Castlecomer Notes in the Kilkenny People. Ger Cody, lately of the Kilkenny Observer, was a social media champion and was a constant source of encouragement when we met during the project.
Thanks also to the many people who wished me well and who were the right people at the right time when things sometimes seemed tough without knowing it.
Castlecomer Library was the location for many interviews and thanks especially must go to Head Librarian, Mary Morrissey, for her support, practical encouragement, research material and introductions to people at the crucial early stages. Thanks also to her colleagues Sophie Walsh and Annette Purcell who were always available and provided crucial logistical support. Thanks to them all for whom nothing was too much trouble.
My deepest professional thanks must go to my KCLR colleague, Monica Hayes, who was there in seen and unseen ways throughout; supporting, encouraging and assisting when things needed to move on and who was always available for the many questions I pestered her with all along. Her good humour and thorough professionalism will never be forgotten.
Conversations with my KCLR colleagues at different stages were most helpful and encouraging but I must mention a few more people in particular: KCLR CEO, John Purcell, who signed off on all the necessary paperwork to get the project off the ground with the BAI and who gave his practical support from the earliest stages of the project, providing technical resources and support all along to final broadcast.
My journalist colleagues Eimear Ní Bhraonáin and Sue Nunn were there at the right times for support, publicity and encouragement all the way through in the early stages of recording and my colleague and friend John Keane (Programmes Manager at KCLR) who kept a watchful eye on the project, offering practical advice at every stage. I also remember a former colleague, Kevin Regan who was supportive and encouraging at a crucial moment and to Edwina Grace and Eleanor Malone who were often there when the days were long and the road ahead unclear. They may not have realized this, but they were there at just the right time with a positive comment. My former colleague, Pat Maher, provided incisive assistance with technical equipment and Ken McGuire, daytime broadcaster (and our current technical guru) was always available and has set the podcast in motion.
Last, but by no means, least: my wife, Judy, who watched over, cajoled and supported me all along from aimless imagining to concrete steps; my son Ferdia, who provided much needed post production tech support and who also composed the music for the series; my daughter, Eimear (provider of fine cakes and pep talks) who, with her mother and brother were the the very real support and strength I needed to get this project over the line. They heard about it long before anyone else did and were so incredibly (and perhaps unknowingly) supportive at each and every stage.
To the men and women of Castlecomer: the miners, sons, daughters and wives, the mine owners and businesses of the community, the keepers of stories who helped me along the way, this labour of love is as much yours as it is mine. They are your stories, your heritage and history and I am honoured to have been a small part of it.
Mo míle bhuíohas go deo.
Here’s the full series link:
Martin Bridgeman 
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