066-915 0530 || 
Friday, February 24, 1984.
A nice calm, overcast day - very mild and Spring-like. The buds on the rose bushes are beginning to open. Cheque for £25 for the archaeological survey from Fr Jack McKenna. Spoke on the phone to Séamus McConville, editor of The Kerryman about the St Brendan celebrations. He asked for some photos of the Gdansk currach and an article.
Back to the Hillgrove Hotel at 8pm for a meeting of all the regatta committees on the peninsula to discuss the World Currach Championships. They were very enthusiastic about the plans. Noel Cíobháin from Ventry
was elected chair and Micheál O’Connor (Paudo) is secretary.
Saturday, February 25.
Got a tractor from Tom Sheehy and a steel-floored trailer from Dinny Joe Griffin and took up Martin Rohan’s offer of taking building stones from the derelict house on his land at Emlough. Had help with loading the trailer from the Kelliher children and our own.
Made several trips during the day and tipped the stones next to the wall we’re building between our garden and the field below the house. When tipping the second load the hydraulic hose burst and sprayed oil all over the place. The loads had to be emptied by hand after that.
Exhausted, but a good day’s work done.
Sunday, February 26.
Took kids to 11am Mass. Met John Moriarty afterwards. He said he was impressed by the reaction of the regatta committees on Friday night to the Brendan Festival plans. He suggested that festival committee meetings be held at night instead of during working hours from now on.
Collected a few more loads of stones from Martin Rohan’s old house which should be enough to finish the new wall. Some of the family gone to Castlegregory to see some big furniture store there where things are reasonably priced. The business is run by a Dutchman who lives at Killelton.
Monday, February 27.
Dropped in on Fr Kissane in Ballyferriter and told him of our plans to deliver a currach to the Pope in Rome. He had a great laugh at the idea! Also told him of Bishop McNamara’s plans to say Mass at the foot of Mount Brandon in June and he said the Mass should be celebrated in Kilmalkeadar. Met Liam Higgins and he’s hoping to organise a football match for the Brendan festival which will see the Gaeltacht All-Stars play Kerry.
Tuesday February 28.
Heavy frost last night but a beautiful sunny day. Phone call from Ned Myers at Muckross House to say there was a strange find in Fybagh.Someone found a deposit of scallop shells about three feet down in their garden? Rang Brigid Ruane, researcher with the Late, Late Show to see if there might be some interest in featuring the Brendan festival, the Gdansk currach and the Rome project on the show. Working on the preparation of the next edition of Nuacht Chorca Dhuibhne magazine.
Wednesday, February 29.
Gave the story of the presentations to the Pope to Seán Ó Cíobháin at Raidio na Gaeltachta and it went out on the news this evening ahead of any of the papers. It’s a great pity that Tim Severin’s Brendan Boat isn’t on show here in Dingle instead of far from the sea in Co. Clare.
Tom Fitzgerald invited me to a meeting in the Hillgrove on Friday night to look at setting up a boat and yacht club in Dingle.
Thursday, March 1.
Good bright day but changed to stormy by nightfall - March, in like a lion. Went to Raidio na G and did a live interview with Breandán Feiritéar forabout 20 minutes on all the St Brendan plans and celebrations.
Drove to Killarney and met with Frank Lewis. He has set up TV coverage of the launch of the Gdansk currach in Dingle tomorrow. Called to Killarney Printers to discuss prices for printing the Nuacht Chorca Dhuibhne.Called to Counihan’s travel agency and asked about a charter trip to Rome in the autumn. They will have an estimate next week. I was told that for each 25 people booked to travel one person is free.
Friday, March 2.
Big article in The Kerryman today about the Gdansk currach and a full editorial on ‘ The Spirit of St. Brendan’. Met Dr Sean McGrail of the Greenwich Maritime Museum and we drove to Hutch’s where a TV crew were filming the Gdansk currach. The currach then headed for Dingle and was launched from the slipway at the pier. RTE did more filming and more interviews. Cuas would have been a better location but the sea was too rough there today. Later we went back to Hutch’s workshop where Eddie had made a special roof rack so that Dr McGrail could carry the boat on his car to London.
Saturday, March 3.
Back to Raidio na G again and did another live interview with Breandán Feiritéar about the St Brendan
celebrations but this one was in English for RTE radio and was
co-ordinated through Dublin. Met artist Jay Killian and we’ll get
together tomorrow to talk about the artwork to go with my poem on Dingle.