Just after 17:00 on 18 August 1908 there was an explosion at the No 1, Cannell Mine of the Maypole Coal Pit. A total of 75 men and boys died in this mining accident. Because the explosion occurred deep underground, it was not until November 1909 that all the bodies were recovered. The inquest ruled that the explosion was caused by a combination of a buildup of coal dust and gas, and the use of explosives to bring down coal from the ceiling. The physical effects of the disaster on Abram are described as "profound"; the explosion made 44 women widows and killed the fathers of more than 120 children. At the time, Irish people were a large ethnic minority in Lancashire, making up between a quarter and a third of the populations of Leigh, St Helens, and Wigan. The Irish Catholic immigrants were seeking works on the Lancashire Coalfield, as demonstrated by the fact that 13 of the dead were Catholic migrants from Ireland. Many of the families affected by the disaster returned to Ireland shortly afterwards.