Cork 800 Maritime Exhibition Catalogue (SM994)

WIth photos and descriptions of exhibits. From the collections of Cork City and County Archives Service.

o� h "soo MARITIME EXHIBITION

CRAWFORD MUNICIPAL ART GALLERY

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MARCH 14th - 29th 1985

Cork City and County Archives SM994

"�� MARITIME EXHIBITION

The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery March 14th to 29th, 1985

Organized by a sub-committee ofthe Cork Regional Group of the Maritime Institute ofIreland.

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Contents

page Foreword: John de Courcy Ireland ........................................... 4 Maritime Cork: Daphne Pochin Mould ..................................... 5 The Exhibits: Annotated by T. Cadogan & D.P. Mould .................. 9 Some Notable Figures from Cork's Maritime Pase: John de Courcy Ireland .......................... 29

The Fucure ofthe Port ofCork: DaphnePochin Mould. ................. 33

Sponsors ofthe Exhibition .....................................................34

Maritime Exhibition Committee..............................................36

Gorch fock at C u,1om flou,e Quay

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Foreword

Maritime Cork by DAPHNE POCHIN MOULD

I am much honoured to be asked to write the foreword for the booklet be ing produced by the admirable group ofmaritime minded Cork citizens, organising, as a contribution to the Cork 800 celebrations, a splendid maritime exhibition. I greatly hope_ that this fine initiative will lead, as those who have taken it hope, to the establishment in Cork of a permanent Maritime Museum. Few cities anywhere in the wide world are more deser ving of having their maritime history recorded in a museum, both to celebrate a remarkable past, and more important still, as an inspiration for the creation of a still more remarkable future.

Cork is a city born of the sea and of the ocean highways chat lead from her to the rest of the world. It was by sea chat the first settlers arrived, maybe around 6000 B.C., and the flint cools they fashioned are scill ro be found along Cork coasts and up the big Cork rivers. By sea, the Bronze Age cop per miners of west Cork brought in the tin to make bronze. By sea, Sc. Ciaran of Cape Clear, 'first born of the saints oflreland' went to continen tal Europe long before the coming of Sc. Patrick and brought back the first news of the Christian gospel- Ireland's first Christian church was almost certainly in county Cork. By sea, the prosperous cattle farmers and big land owners of the great ring forts, brought in items like wine and oil, and the broken amphorae, big jars, in which they were shipped, turn up in ex cavations, jars made in the eastern Mediterranean. And St. Finbar, mov ing down che river Lee from his Gougane Barra hermitage, laid the foun dations of the city of Cork, on a rise of dry land in the river marshes at the head of che sea, of Cork Harbour. Was St. Finbar, like so many of the early saints an amphibious man, as ac home on water as on land? We do not know, but he is the much loved saint of che island of Barra, named for him, in che Outer Hebrides of Scotland, co which either he, or Cork sailors bearing his fame, must have come. The Vikings, who were some of the finest seamen and ship builders the world has ever known, arrived in Cork in the 9th century and established a small town there. From Finbar's monastery, the Viking settlement, Cork was established wich its face set always co the sea. This year, celebrating 800 years since Cork got ics first formal charter, we should remember that the county then had two other medieval walled towns and seaports, Youghal and Kinsale, which once rivalled our city in importance and sea borne trade. Bue Cork's great harbour into which very large ships could sail and anchor, tipped the balance co which rown would become the major sea pore. Not for nothing is the city's coat of arms, a great ship sailing between twin castles and her motto, Statio Bene Fida Can'nis, a safe harbour for ships. Excavations in medieval Cork have shown how much was imported, with a glittering collection of broken pottery made in continental Europe and in England. Cork ships traded with Bristol and many other English ports, with those on the continent, in particular Bordeaux. Cork exports included hides, wool, tallow, fish and speciality items like the shaggy Irish cloaks; her imporrs were all the things not produced at home, metals like

John de Courcy Ireland

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iron and brass and pewters, tools made of metal, soap and paper, hops for brewing, and of course, wines from France. In bad years, corn had to be imported. This trade developed enormously in later centuries. From the 18th cen tu � on, Cork became the 'shambles of Munster', vast herds of cattle were slaughtered here, and salted down to provision not only the British Navy and merchant fleet but many foreign ships that would call to the Cove of Cork to provision for their long voyages. Cork developed great expertise in salting meat and fish, and an army of coopers to make the barrels in which they werepreserved. The Cork Butter Market, was established 1770, draw ing supplies from all over Cork and Kerry, and its product, salted butter in wooden casks, travelled as far a.field as Australia until that country developed its own dairy herds. Cork Harbour therefore was visited by generation upon generation of merchant ships, growing always bigger and more sophisticated, from Viking longship to container vessel and oil tanker. But there were also war ships and pirates. Spanish men o'war chased Sir Francis Drake, so the story goes, into Cork Harbour and then missed him, when he took his own small vessel up the river from Crosshaven to lurk in Drakes Pool. Spanish vessels brought Spanish forces co fight at the battle of Kinsale in 1601/2. Algerian pirates raided Baltimore in 1631; 1796 saw a French invasion fleet in Bantry Bay which, shattered by bad weather and bad seamanship, failed to make a landing. But to protect the coasts thereafter, Marrello towers and Gothic-looking signal towers, were erected along them, of which fine examples survive around Cork harbour and along Cork coasts. A Martello tower built on Haulbowline island was the beginning of its ex tensive development as a British Admiralty base. Today it is used by the Irish Naval Service. Cork people not only sailed ships but built them. In earlier times, the once extensive Cork forests provided plenty of timber. For instance, two vessels of 500 tons each, for the East India Company, were built on the river Bandon at Innishannon in 1613. Till very recently, fishing boats were built, often literally on the beach, by local craftsmen for local use, and there were some special local types, of which perhaps the Kinsale hooker was the most outstanding. In the early 1920s, Tom Moynihan built SAOIRSE in the Baltimore yard, for Conor O'Brien, the first ship to carry the Irish flag round the world. Ship building went on all along the shores of Cork Harbour, right up into the city until the stone quays were built, eventually becoming concen trated at Passage West and at Rushbrooke, where the great modern shipyard of Verolme has lately so unhappily closed. Ireland's very first

steam ship, CITYOFCORK, was launched at Passage West, 10 September 1815; 50 tons with 18 hp engines. Another little paddle steamer, WATERLOO followed in 1816, with a 50 hp engine made by the Hive iron works of Cork city, and thought to be the first marine engine built in Ireland. These early steamers merely carried passengers across Cork Harbour but in 1821, the St. George Steam Packet Company was founded by a group of Cork businessmen and began regular cross-channel services with larger vessels. It was their new SIRIUS, 320 hp, that was chartered by the British and American Steam Navigation Company when their own BRITISH QUEEN was not ready, to attempt the first scheduled steam passage of the Atlantic and co cry and beat Brunel's GREAT WESTERN. Under her captain, Cork born Richard Roberts, R.N. little SIRIUS suc cessfully steamed into New York, ahead of GREAT WESTERN by some 19 hours, on 22 April 1838. SIRIUS made a second steam passage co New York later char same year. The St. George Steam Packet Company passed through several renamings and reorganisations, eventually merging into the B. & I. line. Cork Harbour must have seen almost all the great ships of the world. Old accounts speak of three and four hundred sail anchored there, waiting co set out on a convoy to the West Indies guarded by British warships against Frenchmen and privateers. Convict ships and emigrant ships car ried thousands of Irish folk away from the Cove of Cork; the great sailing ships of rhe 19th and early 20th centuries put in to 'Queenscown for orders' at the end of their long voyages; the sleek Atlantic liners, successors co little SIRIUS, swiftly picked up their Irish passengers or put them and the mail, ashore. For TITANIC, on her maiden voyage, it was her last sight of land and last port of call. Today, it is a different generation of ships, container vessels and the ships which serve the offshore gas rigs. The Harbour too is crowded with yachts, and Cork people's enjoyment of the sea, goes back officially to 1720 when the Water Club was founded at Cobh, the world's first yacht club. It thrives to this day, as the Royal Cork Yacht Club, based at Crosshaven, a symbol of Cork's continuing in volvement with the sea for both pleasure and profit.

{levW -------

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The Exhibits

MODELS I. Two-masted English schooner of the type that traded to Cork c. 1900. Schooners are fore and aft rigged sailing ships with two or more masts. In the days of sail, they were the small, go any-where cargo carriers. (D. Rankin) 2. Topsail Schooner 3. Three-masted Schooner (D. Roberts) Oack O'Driscoll) 4. William Ashburne. Three-masted schooner. One of the last to trade with Cork. Built 1875. (P.J. Walsh) 5. Two-masted Irish coastal schooner, c. 1910 (Don Cunis) 6. Thornhill. Three masted barque. Barques are three masted ships in which the fore and main masts carry square sails. Thornhill, 919 tons, was built in Quebec, 1855, and was a fast ship with clipper lines. Owned by Arthur Herbert of Passage West till c. 1885 (N. Roberts) 7. Barquencine, model made by Captain Dick Hoare, who was a captain with the Cork Steam Packet Company and had served as a cadet on the famous sailing clipper ship, Thermopolae. A barquenrine is square rigged only on her foremast, the main and mizen masts being rigged fore and aft. (N. Roberts) 8. Brigantine. A brigantine is a rwo-masted ship, with square sails on her foremast, fore and aft rig on the main mast. (Don Cunis) 9. Sailor's model ofa four masted sailing ship. (N. Robercs) 10. Kinsale hooker. Shipwright's half model of this Cork version of the hookers still sailing on the wesc coast of Ireland (Kinsale museum) 11. Hare Island (Roaring Water Bay, west Cork) fishing boar. Model by George Bushe whose father built this type of vessel and other small boats near Baltimore in the early years of che present century. Typical of the small vessels wich local characteristics once built and worked around our coasts. (G. Bushe) 12. Beacon cottage, Old Head of Kinsale. Before the days of lighthouses as we know them, beacons were lie on theroofs ofsmall, speciallybuiltbeaconcot tages. One such still survives on the Old Head of Kinsale. (Kinsale Museum) 13. East lndiaman. The East India Company owned and traded ics own big ships from Britain to India. They were large, armed and well appointed and for two centuries were thought of as the 'ne plus ultra' of vessels.

FOR IWEW TORK, 7L N• a'ltd PowrfJ Sita• S/tip, 111 B 111 S, ........ ..,, ... ·- .,._,, Llnteauat RICHARD ROBERTS, R.N., Co•raautr. TO SAIL FROM OFF THE LONDON DOCKS, OIi Wedll•day, tlae 28tla llarcla, .II JO o'Cl«lt ;,,. tlte M,,,.,,;.g, CA.LLING AT CORK HARBOUR, •oactay, 9nd ofApril. a& 19 o'Clock a& Noon. ■--c:-•................... ......._ ■ 11at+flll 6111 llliW TORK oa tlae lat llay. Di, ,._,.� ...... C....fa,16- .«t'Wl....tioa of F�,. � • ..,..._.1•�- 11 ..... .... ..._ ,..._ C-paa1•1oac., at..._..__H........ ... IP •�111v1 le iucoamoa LAIRD, Mu.I, _, ......,.. ..._ -..; ......., -...-4 Dllla.•Cell:•.. J. P. ROBINSON, 137, uadnalaU Sired. ............

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14. Sirius. 320 hp paddle steamer, built Leith 1837 for the St. George Steam Packet Company of Cork, for their Cork-Bristol run. Chartered from them by the British and American Steam Navigation Company for the first trans Atlantic steam passage in 1838. Sirius made a second passage to America that same year. Wrecked, in fog, off Ballycocton, whilst on one of her nor mal cross-Channel runs, in 1847. (Maritime Institute, Dublin) 15. Great Britain. Brunel's famous iron, screw driven ship for the trans-Atlantic run, pioneering both construction in iron and in screw propulsion. Built Bristol, launched 1843. Her stranding in Dundrum Bay early in her career, showed the screngh of an iron ship, for she was not salvaged and put back in service for 11 months. She was damaged off Cape Horn in rhe 1880s and taken to Port Stanley in the Falkland islands, co serve as a coal hulk. Lacer, RAF pilots refused co use this historic ship for target practice; in 1970, she was successfully towed back co Bristol, where a full restoration is being car ried our. (M. Loring) 16. Inniscarra. Built 1903 at Newcastle for the City of Cork Steam Packet Company. 600 tons, 280' x 38' x 17'. Served on the Cork-Fishguard route and sunk off Waterford by a torpedo on 12 May 19I8 - only five of the 36 on board surviving. (B& I) 17. I1111iscarra (Dick Roberts) 18. Lismore. 630 cons. built 1905 at Dundee for the City of Cork Steam Packet Company and sunk on 12 April 1917 on route from Harve co the Brisco! Channel. Lismore's captain was Henry Blanchard, lacer co become Harbour Master of Cork. (B& I) 19. Innis/al/en. Makers model 1947. Third of 4 ships bearing the name. Built Dunbarcon 1948 for City of Cork Steam Packet Company. 327' x 50'. Operated on the Cork-Fishguard route, 1948-68 and was the lase vessel co be used on this route. Withdrawn November 1968 and sold co Isthmian Navigation Company of Cyprus, and renamed Innis/al/en I (B & I) 20. Bando11. Maker's model, 1920. The first Bandon was built in Newcastle for the City of Cork Steam Packet Company in 191O; 668 tons. She was torpedoed offMine Head whilst on theCork-Liverpool run, 13 April, 1917, only four of the 32 on board surviving. The second vessel of this name was originally Louth/Lady Louth, built Port Glasgow 1894 for the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, for the Dublin-Liverpool route. Renamed Bandon when transferred to the City of Cork Steam Packet Company in 1920, again renamed-Lady Galway, when sold in 1931 (B& I) 21. Kenmare. Maker's model. 1920. Built Ardrossan 1921 for City of Cork Steam Packet Company and worked the Cork-Liverpool route from then un til May 1956 with the exception of the period of World War II when she was on the cargo service from Cork co Fishguard and from 1945-48, the re opened passenger service on chat route (B & !)

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MV Leinster. Built at Verolme dockyard 1969 MS City of Cork Owned by Palgrave Murphy and Hamburg-Bremin-Dublin route from 1965 co 7 1

(Cobh Museum) worked the Cork (Clyde Shipping)

22. 23.

24. Irish Rose Second of 3 ships of this name, 1923 cons built for Irish Shipping by Grays of Hartlepool. Sold in 1954 and renamed Leo, becoming, with subsequent changes ofowners, Colon, Ocean Explorer, Fortune, and Senor de/ Mar went aground on the Mexican coast 1971 and scrapped at Veracrux 1973 (Marcime Institute) 25. Breeda]. Coasting oil tanker built by Charles Hill & Sons, Bristol 1952 (Cobh Museum) 26. MV Kate. Owned and traded by Marine Transport Services 1957-64 (Marine T.S.) 27. MV Marian. Designed and built by Marine Transport in 1958 and still used as a passengerferry. (Marine T. S.) 28. MV Co,pach. An ex-Clyde puffer, operated in Cork Harbour from 1956-75 by Marine Transport Services. 'Puffers', named from the peculiar puffing aspirations of their original steam engines, were che small cargo ships ofthe West Highlands and Islands, capable, failing any pier suitable, co be run ashore, off-loaded at low tide and sail away when it rose again. (MarineT.S.) 29. An example ofa fishing trawler as used on the Irish coast O. McCarthy) 30. MV John Adams Cock Harbour Forrs Ferry Service - single screw motor vessel builrThame, Yorks, 1934 (Cobh Museum) 31. Inman Liner, c. 1870-80. A model made at that time probably by a ship's officer C,1 1 �rP..J,.,,1. (jii• - 1'\�1) (N. Roberts) 32. RMS Queen Mary. Launched on the Clyde September 1934 and had a long and distinguished career on the Atlantic as Cunard's flag ship and during the second world war as a troop carrier. Sold in 1967 for fl · 5 million and now berthed at Long Beach, U.S.A. where she is used as a tourist museum and hotel. (N. Roberts) 33. Helga. Built Dublin 1908 asfisherypatrol vessel, Helga II for Department of Agriculture Technical Institute. 323 cons. Taken over by Admiralty 1915 and renamed HMS Helga and was used co shell locations in Dublin at Easter 1916. Returned co the FisheriesBoard in 1919 and handed over co the Irish Free State in 1923, when she was renamed Muirchu and used as fishery cruiser. Transferred to Dept ofDefence 1939 and commissioned as a patrol vessel, 1940. Sold, for scrapping, in 1947, she sank off the Saltee islands, whilst under cow for Dublin. (Maritime Institute) 34. LE Macha Built by Browns ofClydebank, 1941, as part ofthe British Navy's wartime construction programme and named HMS Bocage. One ofthree of

Windjammers at Cork in the 1920s

(Councs� Cork Examiner)

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these Flower class corvettes purchased from the British Admiralty by the Irish government in 1946, and renamed Macha. In September, 1948, she carried W.B. Yeat's body back from Nice to Galway for re-burial at Drumcliffe, Sligo. Withdrawn from service December 1968 and broken up at Passage West, November 1970. (2 models-O. Hawes/E. Doyle) 35. Motor torpedo boat, c. 1939. The Irish government purchased 6 motor torpedo boats (M.T.B.'s) from Thornycrofts ofSouthampton in the period 1939-41 and used them in the Marine and Coastwatching Service 1940-43. All six were disposed of between 1948 and 1950 - for conversion into houseboats. (E. Doyle) 36. LE Eithne P31 Class Last vessel built at Verolme, 1984, for the Irish Naval Service (Department of Defence) 37. R.N.L.B. A.M.T. (Howth). An example of one of the lifeboats stationed around our coascs. In County Cork, lifeboats are stationed at Youghal, Ballycocton, Courtmacsherry and Baltimore, of which Courtmacsherry's is the oldest established (from 1825). This essential service to mariners in trouble is maintained entirely by voluntary subscription and volunteer crews. (Maritime Institute)

42. British Queen Pioneer steam liner of the British and American Steam Navigation Company, for which Cork's Sirius deputised, on the fast steam crossing of the Atlantic, just beating Brunel's Great Western. Queen, cap tained by Lt. R. Roberts of Cork, made her first trans-Atlantic run inJuly 1839 and seems to have performed very well, even in the worst ofweather. (R. Roberts) 43. President, sister ship to British Queen did not do so well. Captain Roberts was transferred to her, co cry and improve her reputation; they disappeared without trace when returning from New York in March 1841. (R. Roberts) 44. Nimrod. Cork's first iron cross-Channel steamer, built Liverpool 1843. Foundered with loss of45 lives near St. David's Head, 27 February 1860 (C.H.C.) 45. Ibis. Cross-channel steamer of the Cork and St. George Steam Packet Company, built in Cork in 1860, the biggest iron steamer to be constructed thereto date, 262 feetlongwith twinscrewsandcapableofsailingfromCork to Plymouth in 20 hours (C.H.C.) 46. 'Wreck of the Ibis' (Hartnell). In December 1865, the Ibis experienced engine failure just as she was about to round Power Head. In spite ofefforts by rugs and other ships to save her, she was wrecked offBallycroneen, with the lossof I7 lives. 0- O'Mahony) 47. Ajax. Schooner rigged paddle steamer with figure head of Ajax; built Liverpool 1846 for the Cork and St. George Steam Packet Company and in tended for the Belfast-Liverpool route. Lost November 1854 on the Mewstone rockoffPlymoth. (C.H.C.) 48. 'Kinsale Hookers and Schooner'. Painting showing what the K.insale hookers looked like. (Eugene Gillan) 49. Counmacsherry schooners, c. 1850: the Mary Ann and the Harry Herbert. Smallsailingshipsofthis type traded up anddownthe Irish coasts andoften much farther afield. (W. Cork Regional Museum) 50. Prins William de Gross. Hamburg-America line (N. Robercs) 51. White Star liner. Painting by M. Keating of Currabinny ( + 1890) and typical ofliners visiting Cobh at this period (W.B. McCarthy) 5 2. Rangitata. NewZealandSteam ShipCompany. AdvertisingposterofMessrs ScottsofCork (0. Hawes) 5 3. SSCity ofCork. Painting ofthis little freighter which carried supplies to the anti-Franco forces during the Spanish Civil War (Eugene Gillan) 54. Rescue ofsurvivors from theGerman destroyer, T. 26, by the IrishKerlogue in the Bay of Biscay 1943. Kerlogue built in Holland 1938 for the Wexford Steamship Company was involved in several wartime rescues. Attached from the air in 1943 but survived. Sold to Norway 1957 and wrecked at Tromso, 1960. (0. Hawes)

PAINTINGS AND OTHER PICTURES

38. A painting by the marine painter Monamy and used on the commemorative Irish postage stamps for the 250 anniversary of the founding of the Cork Yacht Club, shows the original type of yacht raced at Cork in 1720. (R.C.Y.C.) 39. ·Returningfrom Throwing the Dart'. Water colour copy ofthe painting by John Fitzgerald, 'the bard ofthe Lee'. Each year, Cork'sLordMayor threw a dart into the sea at the limits of the city's jurisdiction, a custom recently revived. (Cal Hyland) 40. Captain Richard Roberts, R.N. (1803-1841). Born 'Ardmore', Passage West; promoted Lieutenant in the Navy for his part in the capture ofa slave ship, ElAlmirante; captain of Sirius on the fuse steam passage trans-Atlantic to New York; then of British Queen, and later, her sister ship, President, on which he was lost at sea with all on board, March 1841. (R. Robercs) 41. Sirius. Painting (C.H.C.) Engraving (R. Roberts). See notes on model 14 for details ofthis ship which made the first steam passage to New York.

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ai nbga nwdeodngeedd wi nh et hnes ruobcskesq, ut ehne tsht ei gr nh lsyeiansgbar ot kr ieghhet ra inng tl ewsot,ot hi te. b o w s r e m a i n (Irish Offshore Diving Contracts: B. Bermingham) 60. Orion. This Norwegian barque lost her mainmast some 500 miles off Cape Chelreaorn, aarnrdivjaulrtyh-errigeg. ed, sailed unaided into Cobh inJuly 1900. Photo shows (W.A. Swanton) 61. Fallso/Garry was one of the finest ships ofthe Glasgow Falls Line. 2026 cons, f s b h r u o e m i l s t t P r 1 u 8 o c 8 r k t 6 P . o i n A r i f t e t h e t e r o S a Q o n v u e e e v r e e e n n ig s t c f n o u w i l s n c la a n f r o d e r e s r o o , r h d e e O r r s l y . a s O s te t n r v o H 2 y 2 a a v g A e e n p , r C a il n a d 1 p 9 t w a 1 i a 1 n s , R i w n o r t e b h c e k i r c t e k s d , f . w og a , s ff (B. Bermingham) 62. SS FJ Zorro. 6000 ton British oil tanker, torpedoed 10 miles south ofthe Old Hmea ak de Co fo Kr ki nbsuatl ei no nb at dh ewme aot rhneirncgoonfd2i t8i oDn se cweemnbt ears,h o1 9r e1 5a.nSdhber oa tktee mi npttwe do itno fo CMhainn eOs e' Wl a abro cuor ev er s naer ae rs aRieda tnoi ehs aHv ee abde ,e annedmnpal mo yeedd i nr saanl veaagrilni egr tshhei pwwr er ec ckk. . (B. Bermingham) 63. SS Norwegian 6500 ton British steamer torpedoed off Galley Head on 13 t M v h o a e l r u r c e n h . t e L 1 e o 9 r c s 1 a 7 w l . p it A e h o t t t p e h l m e e i p s r a t f l e i v r d a s t g a f e b d oe e a rubber. (B. Bermingham) 64. American warships in Cork Harbour during the first World War. The USS Davis in Rushbrooke dockyard, and the USS Wadsworth (Cobh Museum) 65. SS Celtic. When built in the 1900s, was believed to be the biggest liner afloat. Wrecked on Roches Point in 1928. (Cobh Museum) 66. The Liners, Britannic, Columbus and lie de France entering Cork Harbour in 1932. (Cobh Museum) 67. Liner UnitedStates (C.H.C.) 68. Kerry Head. A collier owned by Herriott's of Limerick. Was the first Irish sShuirpv itvoi nbge tdhei lsi ,bsehrea twe al ys aa tt tt aa cc kk ee dd ai ng aWi noor nl d2W2 Saer pI It ebmy ba ier cr r1a9f4t 0i na nAdu sguuns kt ,1 w9 4i t0h. loss ofall 12 crew, off Cape Clear. 69. a a r c n m h u i s m n . g Hb o e e n r r o v th f a l r e u i f R a le b e s d l e w S c h t a r i r a c g n h o d w i n a e c n r l e d u t d s o a e n p d k r c o o i v n p id p th e e r e l o a b c n Irish Fir. Second ship of this name. Built in the Liffey dockyard for Irish Shipping in 1956. Broken up at Cartagena 1978. (W.B. McCarthy) 70. MV Irish Holly. This tanker, 2940 tons, built 1954 for Irish Shipping by Grays of Hartlepool, was the first vessel co visit Whitegate Oil Refinery. (Cobh Museum) 71 . Ser ofpicturesofCeltic Coasters' tankers (W. B. McCarthy) 72. Bell Rival. Bell Line Container ship. Built 1975, 1500 tons and sold to a German shipping company in 1984.

a a d

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St. George: the dragon on che pediment of the original offices of rhc St. George Steam Packet company 55 . Examples ofsome of the crans-Aclantic liners which used to call regularly at Cobh between 1930 and 1950 (Commodore Hore!, Cobh) 56. Cork Quays with shipping and shelteringtrawlers. Contemporary watercol- our by Aidan Staunton. (A. Staunton) 5 7. Pa111ir. One ofthe last great sailing shipscarrying grain. Cork Harbour once sloanwggvroeyaat gneusmtobe'Qrsuoefetnhsetosewbnig sraOilirndgerssh'i.ps coming in, at the end of their fo 58. The Cape Clear fishing fl Laurence Collection of phoeteots,anc.d 1s9c0e0n.esAat tthWisepsterCioodrk, tphoerreeswfarosmmuthche fishing and fi herringand msahc-kperroacleaststinhge pacotritvsi.ty in the area and salting and barrelling of (Cape Clear Museum) 59. PHOTOGRAPHS CITY OF CHICAGO. This Inman liner ran into the Old Head ofKinsale in fog ff p a s s, e nl gJeur sl ya n d1 8 c9r2e,w wweedr eg ianbgl e ht oe re sbcoawp es . fHi rompleys oi nf ttoo wt ihneg chlei r os ,f fuhpa dwc oh ibc he

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Coastal trader, d0<kt·d at Cork. c. 1930

(Counes) Cork F.xaminer)

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73. Pisces II. This Vickers-Oceanic submarine was dramatically rescued, with the two men on board her, from thebed ofthe Celtic sea in 1972. The U.S. Navy rendered assistance and their huge, cargo carrying aircraft came into Cork airport. (4 pictures. Scotts, Cork) 74. Glomar Artie II. Semi-submersible, Smit-Lloyd 123 and Irish Standby Boats. Man overboard inflatable. (Scotts, Cork) 75. Series ofphotographsshowing the B & I fleet (B & I) 76. Start of the Lipton Cup Race at Queenstown Regatta in August 1907: the twenty-conner class. The old Cork Yacht Club premises in the background. (R.C.Y.C.) 77. Cork Harbour One-Design class. Sail plan and photos ofyachts under way. Cork One-Design yachts were built to the specifications ofa famous Scottish designer, W. Fife ofFairlie. With one exception all ofthis class were built in Cork Harbour at Carrigaloe Gridiron, Marine Motor Works, c. 1900. (R.C.Y.C.) 78. Saoirse revisiting Baltimore in July 1961. Built by Tom Moynihan in the (D.P. Mould) 79. Asgard II from the air, off the Old Head of Kinsale. Ireland's sail training ship. (D.P. Mould) 80. Modern Racing Yachts, series from MacWilliam Sails, Crosshaven. John MacWilliams designs have done much to revolutionise sail design. (MacWilliam Sails) 81. Cork Harbour Commissioners in 1912, including Sir Winston Churchill then first lord ofthe Admiralty. (Cobh Museum) 82. Cork Quays, as they used to be when much shipping came far up river and into the city. (C.H.C.) 83. Cork Quays in 1932. 84. Cork city bollards. The old cannon on the Grand Parade, once used as a (D.P. Mould) 85. The complex of lighthouses on the Old Head of Kinsale. This headland preserves a unique seriesoflighthouses, illustrating their development from a simple beacon house, through an early lighthouse of more ordinary type, to thepresent modern installationat the tip ofthe headland. (D. P. Mould) 86. Anchor, now preserved on the road into Bantry, which was dredged from Bantry Bay by a crawler and which is believed to have belonged to a ship of the French invasion fleet on 1796. In their haste to get away, some of the ships cut their cables, leaving their anchors behind . (D. P. Mould) 87. Diver preparing to raise a bronze cannon from a ship wrecked off the Cork coast. (Tony Balfe)

Drive shaft of Siri11s now preserved at Passage West, Cork 88. The beauty of undersea life. Series of photographs by Tony Balfe. (Tony Balfe) 89. Driveshaft ofSiri u s now at theGlenbrookHotel, PassageWest. A great deal was s� lvaged from Sin· u s when she was wrecked offBallycotton in 1847. The work (often using scrap from ships). When the Mills closed, the Si n · us shaft was brought down to Passage, Siri us ' last port of call on her epoch making voyagetoNewYorkin 1838. (D.P. Mould) ARTIFACTS 90. Brasscannons - belonging ro the RoyalCorkYacht Club and once used for starring races, and for salutes. (R.C.y.C.) F_igure head _ofalion from the paddle steamer Cityo/New York. Thus Queen Vicroria was thefigure head ofthe Briti s h Q u een and Si n . us , the dog star, had a finely carved dog with a scar in its paws. (D. Coughlan) 92. Gong, used as a warning signal (of pirate raids) from the Old Head of Kinsale (Kinsale Museum) 21

Cork City and County Archives SM994

JI -

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93. Further work, to reclaim the valuable metal of her engines, was carried out on Sirius' wreck in the early l?00s by Messrs Ensor of Cobh. Presentation sections of the pump rod were cut and given to the Robens family, the presidentoftheUSA and the BritishAdmiraltyamongothers. (N. Roberts) 94. Cannon balls from the wreck of HMS Loo which was wrecked on the Loo rocks (named from the ship) offBaltimore in 1697, on 30 April. (R. Bushe) 95. Elephant tusk from an unknown west Cork wreck (R. Bushe) 96. Wooden float used tobuoyfishing nets in theolddays (R. Bushe) Inflated dog skin for buoying nets. Small animal skins were used for this purpose, later to be replaced by the more familiar glass balls, and then the various modern synthetics. (Kinsale Museum) 98. Stencils for fish boxes. R. SALTER. BALTIMORE BALTIMORE KIPPERS (R. Bushe) 99. 'DuckLamps', usedbyfishermen at sea in the old days (R. Bushe) 100. Many special cools were used in the past for the different trades and in dustries connected with ships and the sea. These cools are co do with the saltingof fish, herrings, mackerel, in barrels. The rushingiron was used to work in a layer of rushes co seal the cask. (R. Bushe) 101. Pourer, for pouringpitchonthe seams ofaship co seal them (R. Bushe) 102. Sail makers tools from the days of sailing ships and sailing fishing boars (R. Bushe) 103. Kinsale Sign Boards Thuillier Brothers, Shipwrighrs Jonathan L. Mangan. Block and Pump Makers 104. The most typical tool of the shipwright's trade when ships were built of wood- the adze, used for working and shaping the timbers. (Kinsale Museum) 105. Wooden block for running rigging. The complex of rigging in a sailing ship required many such blocks and the skilled craftsmen able to fashion them. (Eugene Gillan) 106. Ice picks used for unloading Norwegian ice in Kiosale. In the days before refrigerators, ice was actually shipped in from countries which had good natural supplies. Special picks had to be used to break up the hard frozen mass on arrival. (Kinsale Museum) 107. Set of cutlery from the wreck of the SS Alondra on the Kedge islands in 1916 (R. Bushe) 108. Port hole from the SS Aud. Carrying arms for the Irish rising, the Aud was captured, and then scuttled in Cork Harbour. (P.A. O'Byrne) 109. Brass3' shellfromHMSDrake (B. Bermingham)

C.ork Coa1 of Arms: from 1he Ci1y Hall, burnt in 1920

1 1 0. Divers helmet. Hard Hat type. (P.A. O'Byrne) 1 1 1. Divers Hand Lamp, an un.d�rwater_ torch of c. 1900, made by C.B. Gorman, manufacturersofd1v10gequ1pment (B. Bermingham) 112. Ship's Wheel, salvaged from the MV Celtic Lee which capsized in the river Lee at theESBstationand was salvagedbyScotts of Cork. (1.0.D.C.) 113. Sh _ ip's telegra_ ph. The traditional means of signalling instructions from bndge to engme room. 114. Sex�ant from the sailing ship, Admiral Courbet. The sextant is the nav1� ator's basic tool, enabling the taking of sun and star sights and the workmgoutof exact positions. (D. Couglan) 115 • Chronometer by Egan� of Cork. Determining longtitude requires knowledge of the exact ttme, and much research went into the making of really accurate clocks or chronometers, which would keep exact time over

Cork City and County Archives SM994

long periods at sea. Today, radio allows ships to check on the exact time with frequent time signals; in the old days, they were completely on their own at sea. (Egans) 116. Jacket, base ofoil platform of the present time (Marathon Oil)

L E S

BRITISH & AMERICAN STEAM NAVIGATION CO

MISCELLANEOUS 117. Plans of Haulbowline of 1833, when dry dock and naval installations there were just being begun. 118. Plan of early post-medieval Cork, showing what are now main thoroughfares (Patrick St. S. Mall, Grand Parade) as waterways, up which ships could sail. (R.C.Y.C.) 119. Chart of Cork Harbour, 1782. This chart shows how much change has taken place in the past two hundred years. The Golden rock, now below high tide mark, was then on a small headland! (R.C.Y.C.) 120. B & I Calendar of 1899. 121. Poster for the Innis/al/en, c. 1950. 122. ProgrammeofCurrabinny Regatta in theearly1900s. (R.C.Y.C.) 123. City of Cork Steam Packet ships (watercolours) (i) Albatross. Built Glasgow 1850. Used as transport ship in Crimean War. Sold 1866; subsequently re-named Cymba. (ii) Halcyon. Built Cork 1860. Broken up 1872. (iii) Pelican. Built Cork 1850. Cork-Welsh Bristol Channel route. Broken up 1895. (iv) Sabrina. Liverpool-built1844. Cork-Bristol run. Broken up 1880. (B&I) 124. Artiglio. Italian salvage ship, used in salvage operations off Galley Head/Old Hd. in 1934. Salved a number of cargo ships sunk in these waters during 1914-18 war. (P. O'Sullivan) 125. Lusitania photos. Lusitania on her final voyage and salvage operations in recent years. (P. O'Sullivan) 126. Armorique and Quiberon. Car ferries of the Brittany Ferries line, the Roscoff-based line, operating a Cork-Roscoff service in recent years (Brittany Ferries)

BRITISH QUEEN" STEAM SHIP.

Cork City and County Archives SM994

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Isa/It II. Built at Portmadog 1909. Owned by Cadogans ofCape Clear. Became sailtraining vessel of Irish Marine Service 1940. Photographed at Le Trepon. c. 1920. (Courtesy Cape ClearMuseum)

Cork City and County Archives SM994

Some Notable Figures From Cork's Maritime Past byJOHN DE COURCY IRELAND

In the archives of the Huguenot Society of London (dossier no 1120) is a record ofapplicants for admission to the London Hospital for Huguenots including that ofJacques Chard son ofJeremiah Chard. Supporting the application is an affidavit signed in a firm hand by John McCarty, 26 January 1827: 'I, John McCarty of Bethnal Green, Mariner of the Ad vanced Age ofNinety six years do make oath and say that I was personally acquainted with Stephen Dessoul ofRochelle in France Architectand well know that the said Stephen Dessoul was obliged to fly from France at the time ofthe Prosecution ofthe French Protestants and was also acquainted with his daughterJane Dessoul who was married toJeremiah Chard ship wright ofthe City ofCork in Ireland'.John McCarty epitomises thousands of maritime careers begun in Cork at this period. Cork piratess Anne Bonney was theillegitimatedaughter ofa successful lawyer, William Cormac, and a servant girl, Peg Brennan. She was brought by her father to South Carolina where she married a worthless character calledJames Bonney who brought her to New Providence in the Bahamas and proposed to live by informing the islands' governor about the activities of the local pirates. Anne meanwhile had fallen for a notorious ex-pirate.Jack Rackam. When Bonney ran to the governor, he threatened to have Anne flogged, ifshe did not return to her husband, whereupon she persuaded Rackam to resume his piratical career. They seized a sloop in Nassau harbour, Anne herselfovercoming the two men on watch by threatening them with a pistol. Anne and Rackam became the scourge of coastal and fishing vessels in the Caribbean. Anne turned another woman, Mary Read, captured on a Dutch ship, disguised as a man, into a pirate as fierce as herself. Eventually in October 1720, the pirate ship was captured offJamaica, after afierce battle, by a British naval vessel. It is recorded that when Rackam was hanged, Anne shouted to him: 'Had you fought like a man you need not have been hanged like a dog'. It is believed that Anne's father secured her release, as there is no record of her being hanged. The number ofCork MacCarthys who served in the French navy is strik ing. No fewer than six served inJohn PaulJones famous French-equipped raider BONHOMME RICHARD during the American War of Independence. Another MacCarrhy from Cork served with distinction in

Asgard fJ offOld Head of Kinsalc

Cork City and County Archives SM994

Barras' squadron in the great French naval campaign of autumn 1781, which led to the capture of Yorktown and the establishment of the United States of America. Another Cork MacCarthy w as a leading shipowner in the great French port of Nantes: he often visited Cork, where a son was born to him who became the Colonel to whom Napoleon was to dictate his final orders for the battle of Waterloos, and who in his turn, had a son, Oscar, a famous explorer and designer of the modern port of Algiers. Yet another Cork McCarthy (so spelled by him), Charles, was on his own showing a 'founder' of the great mutiny of the British navy at the Nore in 1797, and proved co be an adroit and humane negotiator. In the seven years war between France and Britain, 17 56-63, the names of the crew of a privateer fitted out by Cork shipowners, have survived. They include Thomas Reilly, master; Thom as Sheehan, cook, James McCracken, steward; John Shannon, quarter master, and Charles Flanagan, armourer. Edward Bransfield of Cork was 'impressed' into the British navy whilst serving on a Cork-owned coaster. He proved such a remarkable seaman during many years at sea in the Napoleonic war that he w as advanced to the rank of Master or navigating officer. It is now generally recognized that in a great voyage of exploration in 1819, in which he charted the South Shetland Islands, where many features bear his name, he w as the first man ever to sight the Antarctic continent. Other Huguenot seeders in Cork city included the Besnard family who founded one of history's most successful sail-cloth factories in Dougl as and provided at least one able m as ter-mariner. The Hardy family also pro duced shipowners and seamen and a number of amusing and moving let ters exchanged between them, have found their way into archives in University College, London. Among contemporary mariners who have shed lustre on the name of Cork though their forebears came from far away, have been Chief Petty Officer (retired) Loci of the Naval Service, whose family originated in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, and served the former Austro-Hungarian Empire in various maritime capacities, and Lieutenant Commander Niall Brunicardi and his m as ter-mariner son, Daire, whose origins were in Italy but who have themselves not only served Ireland with distinction ac sea but have also done much to throw new light on Cork's great maritime history.

Cork City and County Archives SM994

The Future of the Port of Cork

by DAPHNE POCHIN MOULD

No port, in today's world, can remain static; it must develop to meet the needs oftodays and tomorrow's shipping. Cork Harbour Commissioners havetaken up the challenge ofthe times and pushed ahead with a number of ambitious projects. Reclamation of slob lands up river led to the development of the 155 acre Tivoli Industrial Estate, completed in 1976, with its roll-on, roll-off facilities and container traffic. Much more ambitious is the Ringaskiddy development in the outer har bour, which hasinvolved extensivemaking oflandforthe actual harbour, and undersea deepening ofthe approaches there-to. Hand in hand with the Ringaskiddy harbour goes the whole Cork Harbour Development scheme, in which some 2000 adjacent acres have been zoned for new in dustries to be associated with the port - Pfizer and Penn Chemicals have, ofcourse, been long settled inthe area. The planners hope to beableto ac commodate the new industrial developments in the Harbour without do ing serious damage to its beauty and amenity value to the people ofCork. 1984 saw the new Ringaskiddy harbour with its deepwater basin and ferry and ro-ro terminals, named as Ireland's first Free Pore, which should give added impetus co its development. By 1985, Cork will be the only port in Ireland char is capable of handling the really big ships, carrying containers and general cargo, that now travel the world's shipping lanes. The pore of Cork ofthe future will continue to live up to the motto ofthe old Cork, 'Statio Bene Fida Carinis'.

Cork City and County Archives SM994

Esso Teo. Irish Shell Ltd. Texaco

Waters Munster Glass Guardwell Lock & Safe Bank of Ireland Lovetts Restuarant Cork Teachers' Centre Cobh Museum West Cork Regional Museum Cape Clear Museum Kinsale Museum Cork V.E.C. Irish Continental Line Ltd. Gilbeys of Ireland Ltd. Anchor House

Our Sponsors

Imperial Hotel Victoria Hotel Silver Springs Hotel Dominic J. Daly Henry P.F. Donegan Cork Harbour Commissioners Cork Examiner Commodore Hotel, Cobh

The production of this booklet was made possible by the generous support given by the following firms: Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd.

Horgan Livestock Bank of Ireland Finance First National Building Society Site Services Ltd. John A. Wood Ltd., Conway, Kelleher, Tobin Dr. David Donovan Ronayne Shipping Ltd. Barry, Gamble, Murray, Moore S.J. Murphy & Co. Ltd. Banana Importers of Ireland Ltd. Rank Xerox B & I Line Aidan O'Shaughnessy & Co. Ltd. Pulvertaft Ltd. Marine Transport Services Ltd. Irish Offshore Diving Contraccs Ltd.

Celtic Coasters Ltd. Penn Chemicals B.J.

James Scott & Co. (Cork) Ltd. James Scott & Co. (Cobh) Ltd. Seahorse Offshore Services Pfizer Chemical Corp. Metropole Hotel Haulbowline Industries Ltd. Cleaoaway Ltd., Union Chandlery Ltd. Southern Engineering Co. Ltd. The Irish International Trading Corp. (Cork) Ltd.

Brookes Haughton W.J. Hickey Ltd. Regency Interiors

We wish also to express our thanks to those who donated exhibits or expertise to this exhibition.

Marathon Petroleum Ltd. Oyde Shipping (lrl.) Ltd. Jury's Hotel, Cork

D.F. Doyle& Co. Ltd. R.G. Burke (Cork) Ltd. Tedcastle Oil Products Ltd. Brittany Ferries

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Cork City and County Archives SM994

Maritime Exhibition Committee

Chairman - Tony Lewis V.-Chairman - Dick Roberts Secretary - Billy Lewis Treasurer - Oliver Hawes COMMITTEE

Billy Bermingham, Neil Bermingham, Tim Cadogan, Eddie Coakley, John Cronin, Eamon Doyle, Brian Hannon, Chas. Hennessy, Eddie Keane, Wally Mac:Carchy, Daphne Pochin Mould, John Murphy, Ray O'Keeffe, Liam O'Riordan, Cian 6 Se, Norcott Roberts, John Ruddy, Dave Swards, Carol Trant, Gerry Trant

A bollard by Perrott ofCork, cast at the Hive foundry tn Washington street

Designed and printed by Tower Books, 86 South Main S1., Cork

Cork City and County Archives SM994

ADDfNDUM

185 Vie w of Oueensto w n by R L Stopford 1877 (the cathedral spire was not erected until 1915 186 'S1r1us' at Oueenstown. 187 History of Yachting by H C Donegan ('Cor1nth1an'). 188 Belaying pin recovered from a lifeboat davit on the 'lus1tan1a'. 189 The national sail tra1n1ng vessel 'Asgard I I ' . She 1s to sail from Cork short I) on a trans Atlantic voyage. 190 famoub WPst Cork w recks - see IlPm 124. O w ing to non ava1lab1l1ty/l1m1tat1ons of i,µact', lht• fullow1mJ c.il,oloqut• 1lt>m:, could not bP displayed: 1 , 6, 12, 1 l, 44, 4B, ',2, 5}, 5B-6l, 6',, 70, Tl., 77-7•1, 84-87, 89, 92, 97, 112, 116, 119-121.

Montage of photographs sho w ing the range of activity at Passage Dockyard 1n 1890's. HMS Ariadne off Cork Harbour - late 18th century. Great Western -see item 42 Evening Gun at Haulbowline by R L Stopford Blackrock Castle - late 18th century print 'Irish Cedar' - one of the first ships of lrish Shipping's post war building program. Cork Regatta 1928. 'lr1sh Willo w ' and 'Irish Poplar' in wartime neutral markings - paintings by Kenneth King 'Irish Oak' was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic on 15 May, 194}. All crew were rescued by the 'Irish Plane'. Sounding lead. Bullets salvaged from the arms ship 'AUD' - see item 108. Pacific Steam Navigation Co vessel LVS�'l'lft l/b.1 -Sl.)� HHJ &.:�. 'Irish Ro w an' , '51lver Isle ' , 'S.A. Nederburg' - three of the first ships built at Verolme Cork Dockyard. four masted barque.

127 129 130 131 136 137 139 140 141 14} 144 151

155 156 157

158 160 161 162 166. Address by Cork Corporation to Capt Roberst of t�e 'SIRIUS' - see items 14 and 40. fxamples of the last of the great sailing ships - 'Pamir', 'Mozart', 'Herzog1n Cecil1e', 'Gorch fock' - the last named is used today as a sail training ship by tne German Navy. 'Kathleen and May'. L.f. Macha near Gibraltar 1948 - see 1tme $4. freedom of Cork besto w ed on Capt Roberts - item 156. full rigged ship 'Passat'. Lus I tania medal . 167. Locking device for seaman's kitbag. 169. Replica of Lord Mayor's dart - see item }9. 170. Replica of Harbour Master's Silver Oar. 17 1 • Ships badge: USS Truett and USS Scott 172 'A Golden Evening' by the noted marine artist AD Sell. 17} The full-rigged ship 'Moshulu' at the National Ilour Mills Cork. 174 'Dame of Cork' - 18th century water colour. 176 Cork harbour 1n the 1860's as seen from Cobh - by R L Stopford. 177 Cork built ocean racing yachts 'Irish Mist 11' and 'Midnight Sun'. 180 Chart of Cork Harbour by Samuel Andrews l792. 182 facsimile of 'Survey of City and Suburbs of Cork' by J Rocque 1775. 18} Start of ocean race 1926. 184 Offshore exploration rigs.

frrat8

4 Vessels name should read 'W1ll1am AshburnPr'. 34 & Models loaned by Naval Base, Haulbo w l1nP.

35 50

Name should read 'Kaiser Willhelm der Gross'.

113 117

Compass binnacle in lieu of ship's telegraph. Entry to read: plans of Haulbowline and Castlepark (Kinsalr) sho w ing tht• original fort1f1cations completed 1n 1603.

Cork City and County Archives SM994

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