Noel O'Neill
A Mining Experience.
By Noel O'Neill
28, Aug 2005 - 22:52

On Sunday 28th August, members of the Castlebar Camera Club visited Arigna coal mines to get some idea of the lifestyle of a miner and also to see what the working conditions were like in a coalmine. The group was quite unprepared for what was seen and heard as a former miner Peter McNiff took them on a most fascinating tour of the coalface. Peter told of his own lifetime working from a very young age in the most back-breaking, unhealthy and dangerous environment. He showed the ‘gobs’ where he and his fellow workers lay on their sides in water and removed the coal using pickaxes. He spoke passionately of the camaraderie between the miners and how they helped each other in times of difficulty. He told of the times the miners had to go home after receiving injuries in the mine and got no pay as a result; no insurance company would take on the risk. He also spoke of the people who had died as a result of contracting lung disease through inhaling dust while rock drilling to make holes for the explosives. In all his talk there was not a hint of bitterness at the appalling conditions which he and others accepted as an everyday part of the job. Today the mine is a safe and interesting reminder of days gone by. The Arigna Mining Experience, which is a community based effort, is open seven days a week, and is well worth a visit. It is indeed unforgettable.

Entrance to the mine.

Peter McNiff at a picture of the Sacred Heart where the miners prayed for a safe shift on entering and gave thanks comeing out.

Camera Club members under ground.

The group emerging from the mine after the tour.