Rival The loss of the Rival In Connemara Edward J Bourke The Rival can be unequivocally described as Ireland’s most forgotten wreck. Not only was this unfortunate ship the fifth most serious loss of life in Irish waters; but no folk memory survives in Connemara or anywhere else in Ireland. Five bodies were washed ashore but that location is…
Irish Willow SS Irish Willow Oil painting by Kenneth King: from the deck of U-753, signalling to Irish Willow “send master and ships papers” (National Maritime Museum of Ireland) Career (United States) Name: Lake Sunapee Owner: United States Shipping Board (1918–23) Operator: United States Army (1918–1919) Out of service: 1920–23 Career (United States) Name: Frank Lynch Owner: W.J. Gray,…
The Lady Nelson – Shipwrecked 14th October 1809 By James Robinson M.Phil. On 14th October 1809, The Lady Nelson, Captain Bernard Wade, was shipwrecked on a voyage from Oporto to Liverpool, off the Skelligs, Co. Kerry. The 200 tonne vessel contained a cargo of wine and fruit. 25 souls perished in the disaster. The Freeman’s Journal The…
Lines of the Tayleur THE LINES OF TAYLEUR By Cormac F. Lowth. This article discusses the dimensions and construction of the Tayleur For the shipwreck: see Tayleur was lost at Lambay. For the Tayleur Medals, see Tayleur fund for the succour of shipwrecked strangers Tayleur from pre-launch advertisement There are few divers on the east coast of Ireland who…
Loss of Emigrant Ship Exmouth In 1847, During the Great Hunger, the Brig Exmouth left Derry (Londonderry) for Quebec. Rather than sailing west across the Atlantic, a gale blew her east and she was wrecked on the island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland. There were only three survivors. She was registered for 165½ passengers (two…
Audacious Secret Vital Secret 27th October 1914: This was a fateful day for the Royal Navy. This is the kernel of this article and the date had its 100th anniversary recently. I will expand on this later. 28th June 1914: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on this day was the immediate reason given for WW1 but sabre…
APOSTLESHIP OF THE SEA (Stella Maris) by Rose Kearney The Apostleship of the Sea (affectionately known as Stella Maris to seafarers in approximately 60 countries (many with multiple ports) From humble beginnings in Glasgow in 1895, the organisation has endeavoured to create a home from home atmosphere for seafarers. Stella Maris has a presence in Dublin…
John Richardson Wigham on this page, most images will enlarge if clicked. Many if the artifacts are in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dún Laoghaire. Many of the drawings are from Thomas Tag’s book “Brilliance and Prejudice” Here is a YouTube video of a museum guide relating this story John Richardson Wigham(15 January 1829…
Coastguard Lifesaving Carts By far the largest number of shipwrecks occur when ships come into unplanned contact with the shore. In less enlightened days the local population took these events to be an unexpected bonus and opportunity for acquiring wealth. Slaughter of ships crew and passengers was common. The wrecking of the Spanish Armada…
Irish shipyards Warrenpoint – concrete ships During the First world war a shortage of steel developed as replacements were being built for the huge tonnage sunk by submarines. Steel was prioritised for construction of warships. Late in the war the USA envisaged a fleet of concrete ships but few were completed before the war…