In the Inniscarra Dam campsite, there was an oratory where Mass was celebrated every Sunday and holiday by priests attached to the Sacred Heart College in Cork. The hut housing the oratory, could also, by the use of parti¬tions, be used for recreational purposes. The suggestion of the erection of the oratory came from Mr. V. L. McEntee, Advisor to the Société de Construction des Batignolles and those associated with him.

The camp was blessed and opened by the Most Rev. Dr Roche, Bishop of Cloyne, on 25 October 1953. The Commercial Attaché to the French Embassy in Dublin expressed his pleasure at seeing the French and Irish workers joined together in a work of peace. The French engineers engaged on the project had put a cross on the hill overlooking the site as a pre¬sent to their fellow workers and they hoped it would remain there for the duration of the work and for many years after. The cross was illuminated in the French colours at night and was a well-known landmark on the Cork-Coachford road.

M. André Gossonant, Chief Engineer of the Société, said that his firm was anxious to co-operate fully with the workers and to give them all necessary amenities and facilities, as their interests were mutual. Mr. V. L. McEntee said that the contractors to the project had provided the altar in the oratory; the vestments and equipment were the gift of the Joint Advisory Council on which the Société and workers were represented. To the funds of this Council came the contributions of the workers who paid in 3d. for every pound earn¬ed, the company contributing an equal portion. From the fund they gave assistance to those who were ill or in need of help.

On 16 May 1954, an open-air Mass was celebrated on the site of the Lee scheme at Inniscarra for the repose of those who had died in Dien Bien Phu. It was celebrated at the request of the Irish and French workers and their families, some of whom had relatives engaged in the conflict. The celebrant was the Rev. C. Gouffe, MSC, who preached in French. During Mass the Reveille and the Last Post were sounded. Rev. Fr O'Leary, MSC recited the Rosary in Irish.

France had been involved in Indo-China since 1859. Dur¬ing World War II the Viet Minh – the Communist-led Vietnam League for Independence – began a struggle against the Japanese and the French for independence. After the war the Viet Minh continued the offensive against the French. This war, the Franco-Vietnamese war, lasted from 1946 until 1954. The United States supported the French financially by paying for 80 per cent of France's military costs in Indo-China. The French, however, were unable to execute a military solution. The last big battle in the country was in Dien Bien Phu where the French were besieged for seven weeks. The final Viet Minh offensive lasted twenty hours and on 7 May 1954, the French surrendered after very heavy losses.

To be continued…

Adapted from Kieran McCarthy & Seamus O'Donoghue, forthcoming, Generations, Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork, Lilliput Press, Dublin, An ESB funded publication.

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