Shipwrecks on the River Shannon & Beyond (5/xi/2013)
In
the days when sails and wind were the chief means of propelling large vessels,
sailing ships were very much at the mercy of the weather. A severe storm could
spell disaster and small coastal craft were well advised to hug the coast and
run for shelter at the approach of a storm. However, despite skill and
experience at the tiller, and much advice from retired mariners, ships
continued to get caught in storms, some because they took unnecessary risks and
others because they were caught unawares. We will look at a few examples of
shipwrecks that occurred in the general area of Beigh Castle and mention a
couple of emigrant ships, which, though wrecked nearer the North American
coast, were carrying passengers from the Shannon-side area. The first shipwreck
we will mention happened in 1827 and involved the deaths of thirteen people
from Ballysteen. The following extract is taken verbatim from The Limerick Chronicle,
of 1827:
Drowning
at Beagh Castle, 1827
Twenty-five
persons embarked in a sail-boat, near Beagh Castle, in this river, on Wednesday
to collect sea weed, in the neighbouring islands, for the purpose of manure.
When heavily laden, and about to put off, several of those on board took alarm
at the angry aspect of the waves, which, ruffled by the tempest, lashed the
surrounding shore with unsparing fury. As all-wise Providence prompted the idea
of danger, they disembarked and left their ill-fated companions (eleven men and
two women) with a determination to encounter the passage home. The frail vessel
was so overloaded, by the anxiety or avarice of the owners to secure a large
cargo, that she absolutely foundered in the coming tide, which, rushing like a
torrent, overwhelmed her in an instant, within a few yards of land, leaving a
wild blank, diversified by the evanescent prospect of thirteen human beings
struggling between this world and the next. The agonising cries of the
wretched sufferers were hurried on the blast towards the shore, where their
distracted friends, unable to afford assistance, gazed intently on the
spectacle of life and death. But the a0most intolerable suspense existed for a
moment only – idle was the context of weak mortality, when an immense surge
choked the last effort of aspiring nature. In the space of fifteen minutes,
their bodies, borne on the bosom of the sullen waves, rolled slowly and heavily
to the nearest shore, where the receding waters left them without a spark of
life, to be vainly clasped in the fond embrace of despairing friends and
kindred, whose bitter cries not even the howling blast could smother.
This
deplorable record of calamity has plunged many families into the depth of
sorrow and distress; in one instance, nine children have become destitute
orphans. The boat was the property of a man, named Grady. Two sail boats
foundered in the same gale at Kilydysart, but the crews were fortunately saved.
On the above day, also, a sail-boat foundered near the mouth of the Askeaton
(Deel) river. The crew took to the mast head, where they clung, though
frequently washed by the wave, until a boat observed their danger. They were
rescued and conveyed in safety to shore. (LC 1827)
Lug
Sail Boat, 1837
The Limerick Chronicle of 20
December, 1837, describes the wreck of a small boat near Beigh Castle as
follows:
A
melancholy catastrophe occurred on the river (Shannon) on Thursday evening near
Ballysteen, where a small oat-carrying lug sail swamped in a squall and the
pilot, John McElligott, his apprentice, Michael Magrath, with a boy named
John Hanrahan, were thrown upon the merciless waves. The two first, after
a short but desperate struggle, sunk into the arms of death, but Hanrahan
fastening upon an oar, floated towards shore, and was taken up, though with
scarce a spark of life. The bodies of McElligott, the pilot and Magrath were
found yesterday and brought home to their distracted relatives in this City.
The former has left a wife and children. (LC 20/12/1837)
Wreck
of Herring Boat, 1917
Gerald
Moran (1872-1940) in the National Folklore Survey, Askeaton NS of 1937-1939,
relates a story of the wreck of a fishing boat from Askeaton at Beagh Castle.
On 30 October, 1917, three fishing boats left Askeaton to fish for herring on
the river Shannon. A fierce storm arose, but because the fishing was good, and
the men felt that they had some shelter from the pier in Beigh, they were slow
to head for the shore. Eventually, two of the boats made it to shore, but, when
the third boat tried to go towards land, a combination of wind and nets, loaded
with herring, caused the boat to capsize and two men, John O’Sullivan and John
Sheehan, were drowned. O’Sullivan’s body subsequently came ashore in Aughinish
and was found, but that of Sheehan was never found. ( GM, NFS, A NS
The
Sabrina
(1890)
On
6 November, 1890, the Sabrina,
a 95-ton sailing ship was wrecked off the Beeves Lighthouse and all crew were
drowned. The ship subsequently moved with the tide and finally ran ashore off
Barrett’s Point, in Countbrowne. The owner, Mr Hugh Pritchard of Carvarvon,
Wales, instructed his agents to put the wreck up for auction and this was done
by John Bernal, Auctioneer, Thomas Street, Limerick, on Tuesday, 25 November,
1890. The only person to turn up at the auction was John O’Shaughnessy of
Courtbrowne, Askeaton. The ship, built in 1864 at Pwllhili, Wales, was listed
as being 63 feet long, with a beam of 18 feet and a depth of 13 feet. The gear
from the ship, including one square sail, one main sail, one top gallant sail,
two foresails, one boom and one flying gib, together with hawsers, warps,
anchors, rigging and blocks, were sold separately. When the time for auctioning
the schooner came, there was only one bidder. This was John O’Shaughnessy, who
bid £1. There being no other bids, the ship with its cargo of oats was sold to
John, who, with the help of his neighbours, salvaged the cargo and timbers,
leaving the hull stuck in the estuary mud to rot away slowly. Tradition says
that, with painstaking care, John was able to dry a good deal of the oats
retrieved from the hold and sell it at a handsome profit. (LC 22/11/1890)
Treenaglass, 1883
The
Treenaglass was an iron steamship which foundered on Bridges’ Bank, on the
Shannon, near Ringmoylan in 1883. The boat was relatively large, with a
capacity of 1,513 tons and she was loaded with maize and bound for Limerick.
Fatal
Trip to Kilrush, 1882
In
the summer of 1882, four men from Askeaton went for a day out to Kilrush, Co.
Clare, in a rowing boat. They had a pleasant evening in the local public house
and delayed their return until near dark. On the return journey, one of the
men, who was severely intoxicated, suddenly stood up in the boat, lost his
balance and fell into the water. His three companions immediately crowded to
the side of the boat to look for him. However, this caused the boat to capsize,
throwing all three men into the water. Sadly, none of the four survived. Their
surnames were listed as McMahon, McDonnell, Hartigan and Collins. (NFS, A NS,
203-204)
Nameless
Wreck, 1778
In
Castletown cemetery, near Pallaskenry, there is a stone slab, donated by John
Thomas Waller of Castletown, in memory of five of his tenants who gave their
lives to rescue 60 passengers from a sailing ship that foundered in a storm on
the Shannon on 2 October, 1778. The five men were part of a group of volunteers
who went to the aid of the stricken ship in small boats. The five who died were
Edward Lynn O’Connor, Stephen Mahony, Daniel Hickey, John McGrath and Thomas
Hayes. The plaque commemorates the bravery of the men who died while rescuing
others who survived.
The
James, 1834
While
the wreck of the James
occurred off the Great Bank, Newfoundland, in April, 1834, all her passengers
had embarked in Limerick, the port from which she sailed on 8 April, 1834. A
large sailing ship, with 250 passengers and 11 members of crew, most of whom
were lost off Great Bank, Newfoundland. The ship was bound for Quebec and the
newspaper report of the tragedy emphasised that the majority of the passengers
were from the local farming community, especially county Limerick and
surrounding areas. The names of those lost and the home addresses they had
given when signing on were listed. Among the passengers were many children,
both male and female. The places they came from included Limerick city,
Pallaskenry, Kildimo, Castletown, Kilbreedy, Rathkeale, as well as places in
Clare and Tipperary. The Captain was William C Laidler, while the ship’s
surgeon was Henry A Downes, both of whom were saved. It appears that not all
the life boats were launched because of the condition of the sea.
According to a letter,
which Dr Downes wrote to the Quebec
Gazette, when the ship began to take in water, the pumps were
tried, but these failed because potatoes from the passengers’ personal stores,
which were afloat in the swamped ship, blocked the pumps. It was strange,
however, that, while virtually all the passengers and most of the crew
were drowned, the ship’s Captain (Laidler) and the ship’s surgeon (Dr Downes),
together with a small number of others, managed to escape in a separate boat.
(LC 28/6/1834)
Wreck
of Astrea, May, 1834
Another
sailing ship, the Astrea,
which sailed from Limerick for Quebec in May, 1834, was wrecked off Cape Breton
Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. This was a large ship, with 271 passengers and
crew, all of whom were lost, save 3 people, including the ship’s surgeon, Dr
Jeremiah O’Sullivan from Rathkeale, whose father was also a doctor in that
town. According to O’Sullivan’s testimony, most of the people drowned were from
county Limerick and were from the farming class. While the names of the passengers,
who were lost, are listed in the report in the Limerick Chronicle, their home addresses
are not. Among them, however, were several Palatine names from the Rathkeale
area (LC 11/6/1834)
John M
Feheney
Acknowledgment: Special thanks to Kay Naughton for archival research.