John Cotter was the gate man. Norman Jones was in charge of the cable bucket. He conducted a Dublin man whose accent I was always fascinated with. During my time, there was one ESB draughtsman on site, Mickey Murphy. There were thirteen ESB civil engineers; Donal O'Leary, Tim Nunan, Seamus Ayrelton, Jim Seery, Ferdie O'Halloran, Donal Murphy, Paddy McMeyler, Mick Jordan, Frank O'Connell, Tom Carey, Martin Quinn, Paddy Deane and Douglas Dennehy. I remember Douglas Dennehy who had an unusual DKW car, wore a scarf, a silk hankerchief in his top pocket and was involved in the clearance of The Gearagh. All those lads were in accommodation in Innisleena House. Mrs. Cotter cooked dinner for them every evening.

During my last few weeks in Inniscarra Dam in the summer of 1957, I wrote up the final measurement documents on a 14-inch typewriter in Blackrock. I then went to Whitegate afterwards and was secretary again there to Maurice Sweeney. There was a different and bigger set up there. I was working for Americans contractors-Lumus. Director of Construction there was Edward Benas. I then went to America to family in New York for a few years. There I met my Husband Jim McAllister who was from Sligo. We came back to Bantry to open the Bantry Inn in 1978 and ran that until our retirement in 1988".

To be continued…

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