At the January meeting of Youghal Town Council, Cllr Liam Burke, seconded by Cllr Mayor Olly Casey, brought forward the motion: That the council calls on the Government to consider the purchase of the Kathleen & May as a replacement sail-training vessel’ (for the Asgard II) -Report Christy Parker/Photo Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Cllr Burke said there is a serious question as to whether the Asgard, which sank last year in the Bay of Biscay, will ever be salvaged. Instead, he believed, the wooden, three-masted schooner the Kathleen & May would prove a worthy and suitable replacement. The historic ship is currently for sale and in danger of being lost to this part of the world entirely. He noted the asking price is £3m, while the Asgard was insured for €3.8m and the current sterling rate made its purchase attractive. The motion was passed.

The Town Clerk said a previous request to the government to buy the ship, prior to the Asgard sinking, had not elicited a formal reply. Read more

Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

The tall ship Asgard II sank off the coast of France yesterday. The ship was a regular visitor to Youghal Harbour and the townspeople will greatly miss the fine sight of her sailing past the lighthouse.
The vessel, an Irish sail training ship, sent a distress signal shortly after 2am from the Bay of Biscay when it started taking in water.
Five crew members and 20 trainees evacuated in lifeboats and were rescued by the French coastguard. Among them were 22 Irish, two from the UK and one from Italy.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Department of Defence, which owns the ship, said all are safe and well.

The ship sank shortly before 9am UK and Irish time.
“At around 2am in the Bay of Biscay, the Asgard started taking on water and the captain made a decision to evacuate the ship,” she said.
“They were evacuated in two lifeboats and were rescued by Read more