Saint-Malo by Eric Duhan Once you touch ground in Saint-Malo you are entering a place steeped in history from the very first time when man set foot in Western Europe. In the earlier centuries the visitors first view of the city was from out to sea as the city was surrounded by salt marches. It…
Legends of the Lusitania LEGENDS OF THE LUSITANIA The sinking of the Lusitania by a torpedo from U20 off the Old Head of Kinsale on Friday 7 May 1915 was the single greatest shipwreck tragedy in Irish waters. Some 1200 men, women and children died. A warning to intending passengers had been placed beside the sailing notice in…
The MV Kerlogue by Marie-Claire McGann Some of the crew of the Kerlogue: Tom Grannel, Tom ONeill, Dick Roche (able bodied seaman), G Roche (third engineer), Chum Roche (bo’sun) The MV Kerlogue, was the smallest of three ships belonging to the Wexford Steamship Company. She was built in 1939, just prior to the outbreak of…
Original Newspaper Report PETER M’KINLIE, GEORGE GIDLEY, ANDREW ZEKERMAN, AND RICHARD ST. QUINTIN Executed for Piracy and Murder, December 19th, 1765 Original Newspaper Report BEFORE we enter upon the bloody deeds of these inhuman monsters, we shall present our readers with an account of the cruel fortune of Captain Glass, who had fought against the…
Early Irish Free State Naval Activity Eddie Bourke Dainty The early years of the Irish Free State from January 1922 were a time of turmoil after the war of Independence ceased with the Truce in July 1921. The British army commenced their withdrawal and the Free State Army developed from the Volunteers of the…
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 around…
G2, the Coastwatching Service and the Battle of the Atlantic: 1939-41 Michael Kennedy (difp at iol.ie) (This paper is an early version of the introduction to the book: Guarding Neutral Ireland: the coastwatching service and military intelligence 1939-45 (Four Courts Press, 2008)) On the evening of 14 June 1940 volunteers McFadden and Greer of the Marine and…
LOP 6 Howth Head The Coastwatching Service in Howth, Co. Dublin: LOP 6, the Summit, Howth Michael Kennedy (difp at iol.ie) [paper delivered to the Howth Historical Society, February 2009] I: Introduction May I begin by thanking you for the invitation to address the society this evening, as it is always a pleasure…
Smuggling in the eighteenth and early nineteenth Century The eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are described as the golden age of smuggling. From the perspective of the present time, a slightly romantic and rather innocent appraisal has been made of that period. Richard Platt examines this interpretation in his recent book. (1) In a chapter entitled “Myth…
Forgotten Submariners Early in 1999, Chief Petty Officer Owen O’Keeffe of the Irish Naval Service was visiting Old Church Cemetery near Cobh, County Cork. The purpose of his visit was to do some research on U S Navy graves dating back to the First World War. In the course of his search for the American…
