There were also some very narrow escapes. A dumper toppled into the tailrace at Inniscarra, pinning the driver underneath. But for the prompt action of a bulldozer operator, the driver would have drowned. In October 1953 during piling at Rooves bridge, a steel pulley block fell 100 feet seriously injuring an engineering supervisor, Patrick O'Sullivan.

The workers worked hard at Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra during the week and did not have much free time. A few pints at night satisfied. Gaelic games were popular - the workers participated in inter-firm competitions and some played with local clubs. Men from outside the county were introduced to the intricacies of bowling and expanded their vocabulary with such phrases as 'standing road', 'hind bowl', 'fore bowl', 'a bowl of odds', 'lofting the corner' and so on.

Dances in the local halls were very well supported - this was the era of the 'Ballroom of Romance', and the large dancehalls and showbands still hadn't made their appearances. Those that had extra money and a mode of transport roved further afield and visited every dancehall in the county! They danced to the strains of, among others, Mick Delahunty, Maurice Mulcahy, Pat Crowley, Jimmy McCarthy, the Shandrum Ceili Band, O'Driscolls, Blarney, Michael Geary, the Royal, Bantry, Jimmy Rohan, the Shamrock Ceili Band, Billy Browne, Donie Collins, the Leeside Serenaders, Jack Brierly, the Orpheus Dance Orchestra, Jimmy Fitzgerald, Mitchelstown, Pat O'Callaghan and Donal O'Regan. In the summer, the platforms at places such as Rooves bridge, Inniscarra, Carrigadrohid and Dromcarra were very popular. Of course, there was no dancing during Lent.

The new Palace Cinema in Macroom drew many patrons, as did the seven cinemas in Cork City - the Pavilion, the Assembly Rooms, the Ritz, the Lee, the Palace, the Savoy and the Capitol, the only survivor. The travelling cinema provided pictures in the local halls. You also had the travelling shows. Every parish had its own Dramatic Society, which staged the popular plays of the time, particularly during Lent. The radio programmes of the era included Take the Floor, Question Time, Who's News with Ronnie Walsh, Balladmakers Saturday Night, Living with Lynch and The Real Blarney, which included such artists as the Cork Lyric Singers, Don O'Hare, Chris Curran, Pat Nevin, Ignatius Comerford, Michael Murphy, James N. Healy, Mary Cagney and Denis Harrington.

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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