Jonathan Naughton: Hello. My name is Jonathan Naughton and I’m carrying out an interview with Jimmy Mc Grath here at Dudley Road here in western Australia. Today’s date is the 26th September 2020.

Jimmy can you tell me, obviously you grew up in Ireland and you moved back to Australia many years ago, can you tell me of your experience of growing up in Ireland, and in particular Teachaín a’ Watch during the time of the first world war and the building of that building at the time?

Jimmy Mc Grath: I was, we were virtually just kids at the time you know. Thomas Burke and myself, we lived on the cliffs at Portacloy, you know. Any chance we got we were out there you know. And then all of a sudden we had all these soldiers show up. They wanted help to get some materials out to the point, to Barr na Rinne. We didn’t know what they were going to do until they were finished. They built Teach a’ Watch there you know.

Jonathan Naughton: And what year was this? And what year were you born?

Jimmy Mc Grath: I was born in 1928 on the 29th August.

Jonathan Naughton: And what time, what year did they start building Teachaín a’ Watch roughly?

Jimmy Mc Grath: It must have been, probably 1940, just after the war started.

Jonathan Naughton: It was after the Second World War started. So basically you were growing up in Portacloy at the time and the soldiers came into the area and they started construction of Teach a’ Watch. So can you tell us in your own words how did it all start, where did they get the construction materials from, were the construction materials taken from elsewhere, and any other events you can relate around that time, the people that were involved?

Jimmy Mc Grath: As far as I can remember all the materials for Teach a’ Watch were sourced around the area there, like all the sand and gravel and that was taken from the river and from the shore you know. And the first thing they done when they came there was build a little footbridge over the Fiodán Mór.

Jonathan Naughton: For access for animals?

Jimmy Mc Grath: No the animals, the donkeys wouldn’t go across, maybe the odd one would. Most donkeys wouldn’t walk across it because of the echo of their hooves on the timber, you couldn’t get them to go across. They would cross next to it about 10 yards upstream from where the bridge was.

Jonathan Naughton: Where it kind of flattens out?

Jimmy Mc Grath: A little flat area there, they would cross there. They had a little bit steep to climb up but they used to climb up there no problem.

Jonathan Naughton: And what did they carry the materials in? Were they carrying sacks of gravel?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Sacks of gravel and sacks of sand.

Jonathan Naughton: Were there pardogs there or anything like that no? Had they donkeys using pardogs on the side?

Jonathan Naughton: So where was the gravel and sand extracted from? What location?

Jimmy Mc Grath: At the end of the road going down to Portacloy. At the end of that road they used to dig the sand out.

Jonathan Naughton: Alright. And who was involved? You’re saying that people used to excavate the sand and gravel just above the pier, is that the location or further down near the river?

Jimmy Mc Grath: No, no. Just at the end of the road.

Jonathan Naughton: At the end of the road?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Just about 25 to 30 yards past the road in going towards the sea.

Jonathan Naughton: Up on the left-hand side?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Straight ahead virtually.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok, very good. So how many people were involved in the extraction, and loading of the donkeys and who were these people?

Jimmy Mc Grath: There was three of them there. There was two Dohertys. There was two Willie Dohertys. There was Willie Mhichael and Willín John. And Thomasai Reilly.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok

Jimmy Mc Grath: So they were the ones that filled the sand and helped to put the bags on the donkeys.

Jonathan Naughton: And this was extracted using picks and shovels?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Oh no no. Just spades. There is a lot of sand there you know.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok. And the gravel and the cobbles, they were taken from the shore were they?

Jimmy Mc Grath: They were taken from the river, upstream a bit from the river you know.

Jonathan Naughton: Is that possibly where all the white quartz came from?

Jimmy Mc Grath: No. The white quartz came from everywhere. Along the shore, there used to be a lot of white quartz along the shore, on both sides of the strand. Anywhere there was white quartz it was sourced you know.

Jonathan Naughton: And it was rounded and carried out with the donkeys out towards the point and then used for creating that area?

Jimmy Mc Grath: They were big, they smashed them with the sledgehammer. They used the pardogs for that you know.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok. That’s good. So in relation to – so we talked about the gravel and the cobbles, and the sand was sourced locally at the pier. Where was the cement sourced from?

Jimmy Mc Grath: The cement was delivered. I don’t know how whether it was Mc Intyres from Belmullet that delivered it. They were the only source of transport that was coming to Portacloy that time.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok. Alright. So lets move back towards when we were crossing the river with donkeys. Who were the guys that escorted the donkeys out towards the point? Who was in that group?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Oh there was Frank Naughton, Thomas Burke, Michaelín Gallagher. There was four or five but I can’t remember. I know Frank Naughton, Thomas Burke, Michaelín Gallagher and I think Máirtín Coyle.

Jonathan Naughton: Máirtín Coyle. Ok. And when ye got out to the point so the military were there? They obviously, I assume they came in a military vehicle, where was the camp site?

Jimmy Mc Grath: The camp site was when you went over the little bridge, over the Fiodán Mór, t’was on the right hand side down towards the cliff, there’s a flat area there where they had the tent set up.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok and was there a camp fire, did they cook?

Jimmy Mc Grath: I don’t know how they cooked or what they . .

Jonathan Naughton: How many people per tent was there?

Jimmy Mc Grath: There were two per tent and one person in one tent.

Jonathan Naughton: Ok. So you brought the material out to them, obviously in Ireland the weather was unpredictable at times, you mentioned.

Jimmy Mc Grath: Ah well the summer was unpredictable.

Jonathan Naughton: And the summer yes, did you get caught in rain showers?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Ah well yes, we always got caught in rain showers.

Jonathan Naughton: Right. Would ye stay with them in the tents?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Ah you would. If it was heavy rain we sheltered in their tents you know. The only problem was we’d get into trouble, because the type of tents they were if you touched the side the water would come through.

Jonathan Naughton: They weren’t obviously waterproof.

Jimmy Mc Grath: They weren’t, they were waterproof to a certain extent but they weren’t waterproof like the tents nowadays you know.

Jonathan Naughton: Very good. Were ye paid money at the time for your work?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Well I can’t remember, if we got paid we never got it.

Jonathan Naughton: How long did the construction of the building take place?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Well it would have taken about three weeks to get all the stuff out you know.

Jonathan Naughton: Alright. And after the building was completed there was obviously a guard or a sentry at that location.

Jimmy Mc Grath: After the building was completed then they had the coastguard watching.

Jonathan Naughton: Right.

Jimmy Mc Grath: There was four or five of them. There was Johnny Garvin, Thomas and John Burns, and then there was another Burns, Tommy Burns, and Charley O Malley that had the post office. They were the five. And then later on Micky Joe Connolly was there for a while.

Jonathan Naughton: So they did that in rotation?

Jimmy Mc Grath: In rotation, two at a time on.

Jonathan Naughton: This is during the Second World War?

Jimmy Mc Grath: This is during the Second World War.

Jonathan Naughton: And can you remember how this information was passed on?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Oh there was telephone lines.

Jonathan Naughton: Communication, telephone ?

Jimmy Mc Grath: They put a telephone line out to the point.

Jonathan Naughton: That’s interesting. There was obviously telecomm, there was poles that carried the line out?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Poles ya. The army done that you know.

Jonathan Naughton: The army. They used poles to carry the line?

Jimmy Mc Grath: Ah there was poles. White insulater poles.

Jonathan Naughton: And did that last?

Jimmy Mc Grath: That was there until the war ended. I left Ireland and they were still there.