Blast from the Past

To be honest when I first heard we had to write an essay about a quarry I thought how are we going to write an essay about rocks? imagine your first day back after easter break to find out about an essay competition.”

ESSAY COMPETITION

In the Easter months of 2004, the IMQS ran their school’s essay competition. McGrath’s Limestone (Cong) invited students from 3 of the local secondary schools to the quarry for a bus tour, a presentation showing the work carried out in the quarry and some refreshments. The pupils had to write an essay on their experience of the visit.

The outcome was excellent and in turn the national winner was Ciaran Hennelly from Ballinrobe Community School. Two other students also scooped merit and regional awards. Photo below of the past IMQS president, Eamon Holton presenting Ciaran Hennelly and the other winners with their prizes, with Marguerite Golden and myself, Keith McGrath representing McGrath’s Quarry Group.

SOME QUOTES FORM THE VARIOUS ESSAYS

"My opinion of the subject is that quarrying is an excellent industry which I will always support, after all we can’t have development without stone and we can’t have stone without quarrying.” The only facts I ever heard about a quarry were those from my uncle, a quarry was set up beside his house and he was not impressed… All in all, I think quarries are a good idea and should be supported by the public and not criticized like many of us have seen over the past couple of weeks.”

"I think the visit gets young people interested in quarrying and their local environment, it is one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time as many of the classmates turned to me when we were leaving and asked “when can we come back again.”

I didn’t have any opinion on quarrying until I visited one of my local quarries… I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and it was something I never seen or talked of before!”

The Irish Quarry and Mining Society competition, held in conjunction with McGrath Quarry Group, Cong. Left to right: Marguerite Golden, Conal Byrne, Ballinrobe Community School, merit winner; Ciaran Hennelly, Ballinrobe Community School, national winner; Eamonn Holton, president, Irish Minining and Quarrying Society; Ruth Murphy, Presentation School, Headford, regional winner; Keith McGrath.

"When you think of a quarry, you think of noise, dust and pollution, you don’t think of the very important output they produce.”

"I think quarries are every useful and essential in every day - life.”