John Proud has a gift that allows him trace lost or hidden things using a hazel rod.
A ceramics artist, John Proud is also a water diviner and a psychic. He has been called upon to establish the whereabouts of missing people and pets.
He first became aware of this talent when a stranger approached him in a pub and informed him that he had a gift. One indication of this talent was that his beer went flat just by holding the glass in his hands.
John Proud explains that the process starts in the mind and is caused when holding the beer by,
The electricity running from one hand to the other.
Hazel sticks are the tools of his trade, and clients include farmers looking for new wells. Dublin Corporation has called upon his services to trace water leaks.
Finding metals and minerals for private companies forms part of his work too, but this has not made him rich just yet. John Proud would prefer is to be of service to his country, and is modest about his extraordinary abilities.
If I think of somebody, or something, I can find it.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 December 1980. The reporter is Deirdre Purcell.
