Post date: Aug 25, 2013 1:35:24 PM

Cavers: Shane The Elder, Shane The Younger, Al

Trip time: 5 hours (for the Shanes), 3ish hours (for Al)

After introducing Shane McKinley to the Monaghan caves before the summer, he was enthused enough to start digging in Polltullyvaragh. No-one has been back in the cave since Les and i in the summer of 2010, and the last three years have seen some major changes to the sink. The slope above the entrance has collapsed, filling in what Tony and i had dug out. There are two trees among the debris. If there is one plus point, the debris and rootballs have made a mound in front of the cave, and may function to keep debris out once we re-open the cave. The biggest change though is cave itself, as a new section of the rift has been opened, higher than Tony and i's breakthrough point (which is now reburied in two or three metres of rock and mud). This opening, whose floor is about the level of the sink base, is standing height and ran for three metres to a choke, with a small space above. We choose this as the direction of the new dig, aiming to follow the (reasonably) solid ceiling.

By the time i arrived, in body if not quite in spirit, Shane and Shane had diverted the water which was flowing into the sink from the wasteland above, and contributing to the instability of the slope. This also made the cave entrance drier. Shane however had spotted a new hole at the top of the bank, where something has been going on in the cave and created a mini doline. Perhaps this is related to Poll'd? It's very immature, but a few years could see the old folk's home disappear underground...

Digging commenced, and we rigged a pulley and made a couple of buckets to remove the spoil. Shane and Shane dug out the mud bank at the end, and Shane The Elder changed into his oversuit and squeezed into the small chamber beyond. He began digging down the opposite wall, hopefully to break into the Ball Pit from above. About another metre of downwards progress was made here, before we called it a day, as no-one else wanted to change into caving gear and Shane was fed up doing all the digging. It certainly looks promising.

Tony in the original dig.

Shane at the start of the newly exposed rift. The original dig would have gone somewhere beneath his feet.

***Safety - the dig is full of rubbish, including bottles and broken glass, so gloves and care are essential. We also found a syringe and needle.***

Al