Bill Redmond from Mountmellick spoke about his profession of cleaning and preparing locally cut timber. His great knowledge of local history revealed many historical stories. The memories went on to cover his father and his work as a labourer for one of the local estate owners. In part two of the recording, Bill relates to one of Mountmellick’s greatest characters, whose ability to lift enormous weights, both in the workplace and in sport, made great material for recording. It reveals how all heavy weights were manhandled in the old days and reveals the great mental and physical strength of the workers of those days.
Keywords: lumberjack, local history, labourer, weight lifting,