A group of former coal miners from Castlecomer and from other mining regions around the country, who suffer with chronic occupational diseases, held a protest in Dublin on Wednesday last.
The protest was organised as part of their campaign for compensation, as the men believe that their illness was contracted as a result of working in the mines.
The men, who worked in Ballingarry, Arigna, Castlecomer and Rossmore mines, are suffering from pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease.
They believe that the Government had a duty of care to miners to ensure they worked in a well-ventilated environment, but they claim State inspectors did not properly regulate the industry.
The miners say there are only 300 to 400 people involved in the claim as many of their former colleagues have already died.
The miners have been campaigning for compensation for several years
