Chilean miners road to fame

Chilean miners road to fame


Rowan Gallagher

APPLYING to X-Factor or Big Brother is usually a sure way to get famous these days but for 33 Chilean miners being stuck under ground for 69 days is a safer option, according to a  Ballinrobe man who owns an Irish bar in Chile.
“It’s probably the best thing that could have happened to those miners, though I bet they didn’t realise that in the first few days in the dark,” Martin Flannery, a Ballinrobe native living in Chile said to The Mayo News last week.
Martin Flannery, who now operates an Irish bar in Santiago, Chile gave an on the ground insight into the way the story is developing in his new home of Chile.
“They will probably have book deals and be in movies after this which is a positive for those men if you look at it like that.
“It’s a bit like the first moon landing the coverage here. It’s wall to wall coverage but it is a good news story and the Chilean government has managed it very well - particularly well in the media,” Mr Flannery said.
“No expense was spared to get the men out, there were even separate holes dug in case problems arose with one. It was very effectively managed - and choreographed for the media.
“President Pinera was seen as a bit unpopular prior to this and people felt he was out of touch with the common people, but he showed just how in touch he is with the way he handled the situation. I think he visited a total of six times to the mine and was there all day and night during the rescue effort,” Flannery concluded.
After working as a highly successful executive in the banana export industry in Chile for 15 years, Flannery decided to leave the stressful job and when the opportunity arose his brother decided to open an Irish Bar in Santiago, Chile, which Martin subsequently took over.
The first of the Chilean miners have been discharged from hospital and the men themselves are already taking on waves of press trying to get in contact with them.
Victor Segovia who was the 15th miner to be rescued seems to have a good business head on his shoulders after keeping a detailed diary of his experience while in the mine,
It is unclear if he has been offered a book deal yet but reports from a number of sources state that he is awaiting the highest bidder for his journal.
Speaking to Reuters news service last week President Sebastian Pineraa challenged the miners to a football match against his cabinet.
“The team that wins will stay in La Moneda  [presidential palace]. The team that loses goes back to the mine,” he joked.