Newsletter Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland No. 75 Summer 2017 SPECIAL FEATURE Who Fears to Speak of Avoca? Nick Coy Mine Rescue Training Weekend, Glendasan Ed Hicks Primitive Mining on Lamb’s Head, Caherdaniel, County Kerry Alastair Lings CHAIRMAN’S REPORT FOR 2016 THE FUTURE OF THE MHTI ISSN 1649-0894 Iontaobhas Oidhreacht Mianadóireachta na hEireann Dates for your Diary 2017 June 15-19, Mining History Association Annual Conference, Alaska, USA. http://www.mininghistoryassociation.org/ June 23-26, NAMHO Conference, Godstone, Surrey, GB. http://www.namho.org/conference_2017.php August 19-27, Heritage Week. http://www.heritageweek.ie/ See page 7 for more details September, tba, MHTI Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Members will be advised by circular when the date, time and venue has been decided September 9-10, European Heritage Open Days NI. https://www.discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/attractions/love-heritage/ September 25-29, Australasian Mining History Association Conference at Taralgon, Victoria. http://www.mininghistory.asn.au/ Check with organisers of meetings before making any travel bookings in case of change of dates or arrangements. MHTI lists events in good faith but is not responsible for errors or changes made. For MHTI field trips please register your interest, without commitment, so the organiser can keep you informed. Page 2 Page 3 MHTI Members’ Business Chairman’s Report for 2016 By the end of 2016 our Facebook page had 709 “Likes”, up Our first event of the year was in March looking at mines, from 492 the year before. Our page is regularly updated, and quarries and related features around Derry / Londonderry. it can still be viewed without signing up for Facebook. The big event of the year was the National Association of Early in 2016 we wrote to the Glenmalure Pure Mile Group Mining History Organisations (NAMHO) Conference, which in support of their application to the Adopt a Monument we hosted in June at Dublin City University. About 70 people Scheme, in relation to the Baravore New Crusher House. The registered for the events, including the lectures and field application was successful and restoration work has been trips to working and abandoned mines. One of the high spots carried out on the building. of the conference was the dinner at which Andy Irvine sang for us, including new songs he had composed for the event. During the year the MHTI commented on two planning applications to Wicklow County Council: For the conference we produced a 20th Anniversary volume, looking back at the achievements of MHTI. I’d like to thank • Application 15/473, in relation to contaminated soil the organisations that sponsored the conference: Boliden at Tigroney Mine; Tara Mines, Conroy Gold and Natural Resources, Dalradian Resources, ERA-Maptec, the Exploration and Mining Division • Application 15/119, in relation to Ballymurtagh of DCENR, the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Geological Mine. Survey of Northern Ireland, and SLR Consulting Ireland. We wrote to Wicklow County Council about their Revised During the conference we held our Annual General Meeting Draft County Development Plan in connection with the (AGM). Sharron Schwartz, Martin Critchley and I retired as curtilages around mining features at Avoca. Also the MHTI directors on rotation and were re-elected unopposed. Mick wrote to Wicklow Councillors about these matters. Many Carragher retired. He had served on the board since 2007 and thanks to Martin Critchley for writing all the letters. we are very grateful for his efforts over the years, in particular leading fieldtrips to Benbulben Barite Mine, where his local During the year we responded to nine enquiries including: connections have been vital. • Information on mines near Schull, West Cork, for a The key achievement of the AGM was passing a resolution: “It tourist initiative; is hereby resolved that the directors of MHTI clg shall arrange • Information of Conlig & Whitepots Mines for a for preparation of annual accounts by a qualified accountant proposed heritage trail; and no longer subject accounts to professional audit”. This • Potential quarries or open pits for scuba diving; will save the company about €1000 each year. • Historical mining technology; • Access to Shallee Mine; Back in 2004 MHTI helped to form Copper Coast Geopark • Qualifications for driving or fixing dump trucks; Limited, and we have provided directors for their board. • Underground mining courses. The company restructured in 2016 and MHTI are no longer members of the company. I’d like to thank John Morris, You may remember Martin Critchley and Sharron Schwartz’s Des Cowman, Martin Critchley, Matthew Parkes and Nigel article in Journal 13 about the lead mines of County Down. Monaghan for representing MHTI on their board, over the During the year they discussed the conservation of the years. Newtownards Mines with North Down Borough Council, the Geological Society of London and others. The last scheduled event of 2016 was to have been the Members’ Medley in November at the Collins Barracks site of They subsequently met with the Strategic Investment Board the National Museum. Unfortunately there appeared to be for Northern Ireland, who have been tasked with preparing little interest and the event was cancelled. a pre-feasibility study for the mine site. We hope that some good will come of this work, and thank Martin and Sharron During the year we produced three Newsletters, a total of 42 for their efforts in Co. Down. pages. Many thanks to Sharron Schwartz for producing the newsletters, and to everyone who contributed towards them. For their efforts and support during 2016 I would like to thank At a NAMHO Council meeting last October Don Borthwick, a our directors, members, corporate supporters, contributors member based in Cumbria, told me that our Newsletter was to our publications and to the NAMHO Conference, and “the BEST mining history newsletter”. The 2016 Journal has landowners. Thank you all. been delayed due to the late submission of several papers that were presented at the NAMHO Conference in Dublin, Alastair Lings but will be published shortly. 27/05/2017 Page 2 Page 3 Discussion on the Future of the MHTI The AGM’s significant item after the Chairman’s Report continuing as a company and the presentation of accounts was a discussion on the 4. Seek to become a special interest group within future of MHTI. The Board has held two meetings prior to another organisation the AGM, where this was the sole topic and the AGM was 5. Change status from company to society the opportunity to present the topic to members, with a view to then seeking wider views of members through this Of these options, despite a ‘fatigue’ amongst directors, we newsletter and to reach the point where decisions can be put rejected the first option, and have now made several efforts to members at an EGM in September 2017. at maintaining the organisation of an active programme of activities over the past couple of years. This is now An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated clearly unsuccessful and the present approach to MHTI is as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, unsustainable, without a radical injection of new blood to shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body, carry it forwards. which occurs at an irregular time. The term is usually used where the group would ordinarily hold an annual general The fourth option is a possibility if there was a natural ‘home’ meeting (AGM), but where an issue arises which requires the but some other groups in geological, industrial heritage input of the entire membership and is too serious or urgent and social history have their own difficulties in maintaining to wait until the next AGM. Members and/or shareholders themselves and therefore we need to find the right fit for this must be informed of the purpose of the EGM so that they to be a viable option. may attend in a position where they can discuss and exercise intelligent judgment, otherwise any resolutions passed are Changing our status back to a voluntary society from the invalid. company limited by guarantee (clg) [formerly a Limited Company] does not readily solve any problems and Discussion points were in three sections, but the bullet points Directors’ liabilities remain for many years in the eventuality listed below were elaborated upon in my presentation and in of some delayed claim against the Trust. Also, given that a group discussion, and examples given, or cross referenced the audit reporting requirements have become less arduous to earlier reporting in the AGM. for accounts for remaining as a clg means that if a new generation of enthusiasts came to the fore in a year or two The Problem or more, then an established structure exists to allow for a ramped up scale of operation. 1. Declining membership 2. Declining participation Directors’ preferred option 3. Loss of directors through time with few replacements 4. Current loss of active directors (Martin Critchley, Consequently our collective position as directors is that Sharron Schwartz, Stephen Callaghan) option 3 is the most appropriate, with differences of opinion 5. Loss of interest amongst members? being mostly around the scale of retraction in our operation. 6. Have we done everything we can? What does this mean? Listed below are things we consider 7. Remaining Directors struggling to find time for any are required to achieve some level of sustainable organisation MHTI activities with the current directors and resources. 8. Lack of ‘new’ venues or ideas 9. No joint working with other like-minded interest 1. Focus on spending our resources on delivering a groups new website (data rich, focused on inventory) 10. Fall-off in active support from UK which becomes a legacy resource for anyone 11.