One man plans to be buried alive on a fairy fort in Wexford.

Tim Hayes wants to be buried alive for eleven days in a coffin on a fairy fort during a Fete at Monamolin, County Wexford. However, his plans face the opposition of locals who believe it is bad luck to interfere with a fairy fort. Tim Hayes is determined to prove them wrong.

This lack of local support has left Tim Hayes facing the dilemma of who would dig his grave. None of the local men were willing to interfere with the fairy fort. However, he may have found diggers among his workmates at Cobh dockyard.

Turn one sod of that fort, and you’ll never have a day's luck. There’s not a man in the village who would dare to touch it.

Asked why he wants to bury himself alive in a fairy fort, Tim Hayes responds

I just want to prove to the world that there’s no such thing as a fairy... I don’t believe in fairies.

On 8 June 1970 Tim Hayes beat his previous world record of 215 hours buried alive in a standard-size coffin. He remained underground on the fairy site in Monamolin for 239 hours, 31 minutes, and 55 seconds. His previous record had been set in Macroom.

Tim Hayes died in 2005.

This episode of ‘Newsbeat’ was broadcast on 30 April 1970. The reporter is Cathal O’Shannon.

‘Newsbeat’ was a half-hour feature program presented by Frank Hall and ran for 7 years from September 1964 to June 1971. ‘Newsbeat’ went out from Monday to Friday on RTE television and reported on current affairs and issues of local interest from around Ireland. The final programme was broadcast on 11 June 1971.

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