ULTAN COWLEY,
Madam, - I am the author of The Men Who Built Britain: A History of the Irish Navvy (Dublin 2001). I am currently researching material for a new book, to be called The Craic was Good in Cricklewood: Stories of the Irish Navvies.
Unlike my first book this one will be less scholarly in tone and more concerned with the first-hand experiences of construction industry veterans and those closely associated with them.
I am anxious to talk to anyone with a story to tell who would like to see it set down in their own words. I want to hear about the sites, the scams, the wild men, the subbies, the dancehalls, the bed-sits, the amorous landladies and all the humour, hardship, and heartbreak which make up the mythology of the industry as experienced by the Irish in Britain - and, indeed, in America and elsewhere.
Would any readers interested please contact me on 086-272 3868 or 051-563377 or write to the address below. - Yours, etc.,
ULTAN COWLEY,
The Potter's Yard,
Rathangan,
Duncormick,
Co Wexford.