Clondalkin man Ciaran Kavanagh has not got a telephone in his home and has been waiting to get one for the past five years.

In this 'Ireland's Eye' report, Ciaran describes his dilemma as he searches for a working public pay phone in Clondalkin in what he describes as his

Communications pilgrimage.

He travels on foot from phone box to phone box, firstly in his immediate area of Neilstown and then further afield in Cappaghmore and then in the village of Clondalkin, in search of a working telephone. Poor communications networks and vandalism mean that there are no working public payphones in the vicinity. As he continues his search Ciaran finds phone boxes in different states of disrepair. He finally finds a working payphone and makes his urgent call with the assistance of the operator.

Ciaran Kavanagh explains that when he moved into the Neilstown housing estate in 1977 the builders had a telephone line in place. However, when construction was completed, they took the telephone line with them. Ciaran applied for a telephone line in 1977 and in February 1978 received a letter saying that there wasn't much hope of getting a phone as the ground cable had not been laid. He is still waiting for the situation to change.

I still have to rely on public phones.

An 'Ireland's Eye' report broadcast on 21 April 1982.