A CAPSTAN from an old shipwreck has been discovered near the eastern point of Youghal outer harbour. Fisherman Barry Clohessy with his son Conor and Denis McCarthy made the unusual catch while out fishing on Saturday 18th August 2012. A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.

Click on the video below to see the Capstan raised from the deep at the Quay in Youghal

The video below is a demonstration of a Capstan at work. Sea shanties would often be sung when turning the capstan. A shanty (also spelled “chantey,” “chanty”) is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labour on board large merchant sailing vessels

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Sea Shanties in Moby Dick (1956) The sea shanty singing in the video below is from the film Moby Dick. This particular clip was filmed in Youghal back in 1954. Directed by John Huston

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THE SCHOONERS that sailed around our coast and up our tributaries and rivers are shown, documented and remembered in a new book entitled ‘Irish Sea Schooner Twilight’. It will be launched at Jacko Creenan’s pub at Ballinacurra, near Midleton on Wednesday 15th August at 5.p.m. Many famous faces connected with sailing and the days of the schooners are expected to be there to make it a memorable evening of story-telling and yarns.

Written by the late well-known maritime historian and author, Dick Scott of Limerick, this will be a must-have for all seafaring people and coastal dwellers alike. Sadly, Dick passed away before he could see his work published but it has now been brought to fruition by two of Dick’s friends in Britain, maritime historians Charles Waine and Colin Green, working with publisher Neil Parkhouse of Black Dwarf Lightmoor Publications, who has edited and produced the book to a high standard. Dick’s son David has also been fully involved in the project and is looking forward to seeing his father’s work in print.

Related Video

The book is full of photos (many of which were taken by Dick himself) of vessels such as ‘Kathleen & May’, ‘Brooklands’, ‘Nellie Fleming’, ‘Agnes Craig’, ‘Ketch of Ayr’, ‘Irene’, ‘William Ashburner and dozens of others. The full history of the vessels, where they were built, cargoes carried, remarkable incidents and escapes during the wars, the crews and their final resting places are all detailed.

Ports such as Arklow, Ballinacurra, Crosshaven, Dungarvan, Kinsale, Youghal, Killahala, Capoquin and the River Blackwater feature prominently within the one hundred and eighty four pages. Sailors will recognize Tommy Jewell (Captain of Kathleen & May), Paddy O’Mahoney, Johnnie McGrath, Philip Whyte, Dick Scott himself, Christy Creenan, Jim McDonald (Captain of Agnes Craig) and Douglas Bennett.

This book will be sought and sold all over the Irish and British coasts where the schooners were held in high esteem as part of the culture, sentiment and history of the coastal trade.

Everybody will be welcomed by Nina Byrne (the late Jacko’s daughter) at Jacko Creenan’s, Ballinacurra on 15th August for this very special event.

Blackwater Cruises in HD
Pleasure cruises on the stunning Blackwater River with the genial Tony Gallagher, amateur historian and captain of Maeve Óg, a brand new open deck, fully licensed boat.
www.blackwatercruises.com for details

This morning, Monday 9th July 2012, the Captain and Crew of the sailing Ketch ‘IRENE’, made a presentation of a framed certificate to Youghal Town Council at the Quayside Youghal. The certificate read “To the people of Youghal, Co. Cork to commemorate their visit from the 3rd to 9th July of the sailing Ketch Irene, the Master and crew would like to express their sincere thanks for the warm welcome they received”

The Captain of the ship Laurance Ottley said they have sailed 10,000 miles around the Atlantic but the visit to Youghal was by far the warmest welcome the crew have received in any of the ports they have visited.  Mr. Ottley said it was a happy coincidence to arrive in Youghal Harbour during the fantastic Queen of the Sea Festival which the crew enjoyed very much.  The Captain raised the sails to add a nice backdrop during the Queen of the Sea Contest final as the boat was berthed nearby and lowered it later that evening for the people at the Quayside to enjoy the Firework spectacle looking through the ships riggings.

Deputy Mayor Eoin Flanaghan was delighted to accept the presentation along with his fellow Councillors, Tara O’Connell, Mary Linehan Foley, Sammy Revins, Michael Beecher and Liam Burke. Also present were Paddy O’Beirne from the Youghal Kathleen and May Society and musician Michael O’Connell.

It is hoped that the Irene will pay a return visit to Youghal to coincide with the Moby Dick Festival organised by the Youghal4All Group.  The Irene sets sail tonight at high tide approximately 10 p.m.

The 120 feet ketch Irene of Bridgwater has docked at Youghal Quays today, Tuesday 3rd July 2012, and will remain berthed there until the weekend. The international crew of eight are looking forward to staying on dry land for a couple of days and hoping to see the  ‘Youghal Queen of the Sea Festival 2012? which begins this weekend  the 6th, 7th and 8th of July.

Click on the video below to watch the Irene dock at the quay’s in Youghal on the 3rd July 2012 uploaded by you tuber tomp1193

The 120 feet ketch Irene of Bridgwater has docked at Youghal Quays today, Tuesday 3rd July 2012, and will remain berthed there until the weekend. The international crew of eight are looking forward to staying on dry land for a couple of days and hoping to see the  ‘Youghal Queen of the Sea Festival 2012′ which begins this weekend  the 6th, 7th and 8th of July.

Article below from www.sail-world.com  – 18 Mar 2012GMT

Sailing ketch Irene – goodbye billionaires, hello cargo!

Last month the British sailing ship Irene, a 1907 West Country trading ketch bought and restored by owner Dr Leslie Morrish in 1965 and restored again after a fire in 2003, set off from Plymouth on what may turn out to be an historic attempt to set the model for the return of sail power for cargo transport.
Over the next four months or so, according to a report in the Guardian, Irene and its crew will carry organic beer from Devon to France, olive oil from Spain to Brazil and then – all being well – bring cocoa, coffee, Amazonian ‘superfoods’ and rum from South America and the Caribbean back to the UK.

Not that it will be rowed, as most such sailing vessels were in the past, into and out of harbours – the ship’s diesel engine will be fired up to do that. But for the rest is will use merely the power of the trade winds to cross the Atlantic.

The hope is that, with this symbolic season of journeys, Irene – a lovely wooden sailing ship built to transport bricks and tiles – will blaze a trail for other wind-powered cargo ships.

The project, New Dawn Traders, was hatched by Jamie Pike, a Bristol environmentalist and champion of the slow food movement. He wanted to find a way of bringing goods back from South America under sail and approached Irene’s owner, Leslie Morrish, a retired psychiatrist who spent years restoring the vessel and keeping it at sea.

The finances did not add up for a one-way journey, just as they don’t for one-way aviation or road transport. It would have cost Pike £100,000 to charter the boat, a sum he simply did not have, but then Irene’s captain, Laurance Ottley, met someone in the olive oil business and came up with the idea of sailing a consignment out to Brazil (which has a growing appetite for luxury goods thanks to a booming economy) and letting Pike fill the boat up with goods for the return trip.

Dropping off 2,500 bottles of organic ale from Devon for beer-loving Bretons was another wheeze designed to add profit to the enterprise.

A 10-strong international crew has been recruited, including a French paramedic and a Finnish shipwright. Morrish, now in his 70s, will be on board, as will Pike. Ottley, more used to dealing with the likes of Mick Jagger and Pierce Brosnan than a load of olive oil, will skipper the vessel.

For Pike, this trip, which began on Valentine’s Day, is about romance but also about getting an important environmental message out. ‘It’s great to be doing this romantic trip on a lovely old ship,’ he told the Guardian before the ship sailed. ‘But there’s a bigger debate to be had about shipping in general. Is there an alternative to huge polluting cargo ships? We want to help launch that debate.’

The Irene and her dedicated crew are not the only one seeking solutions to the great fuel dilemma.

As previously reported in Sail-World, there are some interesting schemes in the offing aimed at creating wind-powered cargo vessels. A British company called B9 Shipping, for example, is aiming to produce a fleet of Flagships of the Future – cargo ships using wind and renewable energy. Sailors in France and the Netherlands are hatching schemes similar to the New Dawn Traders. On a local level, there are examples in south-west England of goods being moved up river and along the coast by sail.

Another member of Irene’s crew, Lucy Gilliam, a former government environmental scientist, said she hoped the voyage could help provide a ‘narrative’ for the story of trade by wind power.

‘People aren’t really aware of the damage these huge cargo ships are doing to the planet,’ she told the Guardian. ‘There needs to be a great story to get a popular movement going. People are inspired by tall ships. There’s something magical in seeing a tall ship in a harbour or at sea.’

Up until recently, Irene has been used for charter trips around the Mediterranean for the rich and famous. The ship’s captain Laurance Ottley, who has already spent seven years on these charters thinks Irene will be much happier in her new task.

‘I believe it’ll be happier doing what it’s designed to do rather than pampering to the desires of billionaires. It will be doing proper work again.’

 Article below from www.ireness.com

The History
Built by F J Carver and Son in Bridgwater, 1907, Irene is the last of the West Country Trading Ketch’s still under sail. She sailed for 50 years as part of the fleet of British Merchant vessels through two world wars and a Great Recession.

For many years she belonged to the Bridgwater Brick and Tile Company plying the waters of the Bristol Channel between Bridgwater and Ireland, carrying cargoes of tiles and bricks. Later she was used for transporting coal and clay around the coast.

She was built to be beached and often unloaded her cargo into carts to be taken by horse across the sands to small isolated communities.

She retired from her trading service in 1960 and then changed hands a few times before being converted to a house boat.

In 1965 she was found in a derelict state in the Hamble river  by her present owner, Doctor Leslie Morrish. He bought her for £2,500.00 and began a restoration job that lasted nearly 20 years. His initial task was to motor-sail Irene around to Brentford on the Thames, Irene’s home for the next 15 years. The trip was not without mishap; going under Hammersmith Bridge the bowsprit stuck in the last span of the bridge, pierced the pavement, shut the bridge in the rush hour and cut off the gas supply to half of south London. It was a dramatic start to a new life.

When Irene reached Brentford Leslie Morrish and his family lived on board using her as a house boat and restoring her at the same time. Once she had been restored to her former glory she was used for many commercials, film and fashion shoots. Irene played the part of “The Flying Dutchman” in the epic film biography of the composer Richard Wagner.

A full-of-colour religious ceremony took place at the Youghal Parish Church when the annual Mass was said last Saturday ( 4th Feb 2012) for all the mariners lost to the water.

Uniforms were in abundance with the Irish Naval Service well represented. Also in attendance were the local Coastguard Service and the Royal National Lifeboat crew. The Mass was said by Canon Tom Browne, assisted by Fr. Denis Herlihy, recently retired back from England.

Another attractive and emotional aspect of the ceremony was the sea-shanty songs and music provided by members of the Lifeboat and Navy. Local historian and author Maurice Ahern, whose forefathers were sailors and fishermen, gave the homily and included a few lovely poems. ‘I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall-ship and a star to steer her by’.

The congregation mainly comprised members of sea-faring families from Ardmore and Youghal who were deeply moved by the prayers and singing. Everywhere could be seen hankies drying the tears from the eyes of adults as they were reminded of their loved ones — some of whom have no graves but the deep ocean. Canon Browne spoke of the strong heritage of seafaring in the area and how costly it was during storms and world wars.

The Offertory gifts brought to the altar included many medals of honour belonging to forefathers of members of the congregation. Also brought up to the altar was a replica of a tall-ship and a painting of the ‘Kathleen-and-May’ schooner.

At the conclusion of a very inspiring, emotional and prayerful hour, that great lifeboat anthem by Phil Coulter ‘Home from the Sea’ was sung by all.

There was hardly a dry eye in the house.

In this year of the centenary of the loss of the Titanic, it is fitting that like Cobh, the port of Youghal should remember and honour its souls lost to the sea.

The Loughlins of the Mall, Youghal, were a typical seafaring family of the nineteenth century when sailing ships ruled the seas.

Tom Loughlin captained the sailing ship
‘Perfect’, a boat that left Youghal every Spring in the mid-eighteen-hundreds to sail to the Americas. Cargo outwards would be dairy produce and on the return voyage, timber like mahogany was imported. Tom had four sons named Tommy, Michael, Jack and Jim. Tommy was sailing with his father (at just nineteen) when he was washed overboard off the Lizard. Captain Tom had to be forcibly restrained from jumping overboard in what would have been a hopeless attempt to save his son.

Another son of Captain Tom, Miko Loughlin of the Mall, died on the schooner William S. Green, shipwrecked on the Devon Coast in 1904.

Move on to 1917, when Jack Loughlin, then himself a captain, was drowned with all his crew on the
‘S.S. Ballater’ (Liverpool). It was during the First-World-War, in September 1917, that a submarine attack caused that loss. Jack was then fifty-two years of age.

And so of the original four Loughlin sons, who sailed out with their father, only Jim (also now a captain) remained. He was affectionately known as Jimo and it was his belief that
‘Davy Jones Locker’ had taken enough of the Loughlin family. So Jimo retired from seafaring, settled down ashore and lived to a ripe old age.

Click on image to enlarge

Photographs and story courtesy of Mike Hackett. Video by Kieran McCarthy and Michael Hussey

On Saturday February 4th 2012 next at 10 am, a Mass will be celebrated in the Youghal Parish Church in rememberance of all the fishermen, sailors and navy men from this East- Cork and West-Waterford area who were lost to the water over the last one-hundred and fifty years.  The list is of ninety-five men who died on tall-ships, trawlers, salmon boats, naval ships and liners, in all parts of the world.  Sadly a great number were never found and have a watery grave.  Some others were buried in far-away lands that vary from Russia to Brazil.
A selection of awarded medals will be on display during the Mass and it is hoped to have uniformed members of the Irish Naval Service, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Irish Coastguard in attendance.

Sailors and Seamen of Youghal who lost their lives to the water.

Captain Fleming of Youghal died on the schooner ‘Hertford’ when it shipwrecked on the Wexford coast in 1882. It was owned by local merchants Flemings and the captain was one of the family.

James Butler of Windmill Hill also died on the schooner ‘Hertford’. James was actually a baker by trade and this was his first voyage. Patrick McCarthy and Seaman Bennett, both of Youghal, were also lost in that incident.

Walter William Burke of Hanover Street contracted Yellow Fever on the Tall-Ship ‘Melanope’ in 1894. He died at sea and the vessel brought the body into Rio-De-Janeiro, Brazil, where he is buried.

Miko Loughlin of the Mall died on the schooner William S. Green, shipwrecked on the Devon Coast in 1904. Danny Coakley of North Main Street and Tommy Walsh of Mary Street also died then on the William S. Green.

Jack Smyth of Flemimgs Court, Tallow Street, died on the ‘Annette’ when she went onto the rocks below Youghal Lighthouse in 1905. Captain Kirby of Dungarvan died on the same occasion.

Patrick McCarthy of Mouse Street caught a disease on a brigantine, died, and was buried in Archangel in Russia. He was grandfather of the late Noel Donoghue of Cross Lane.

 

Paddy O’Brien of Ballyvergan was lost overboard from the destroyer ‘Cossack’ at Ayr in Scotland, in 1919. He slipped on a steep gangway and hit his head on the quay-wall.

Captain Patrick O’Brien of Strand Street, died of blood poisoning on the ‘B.I.’ at Runcorn, Merseyside in 1914, at the age of 32.

Martin Bland of Church Street died on ship in 1920 and was buried in Aruba in the Dutch Carribean. He was father of the late George Bland of O’Rahilly Street.

James Duggan of Church Lane, in an attempt to rescue a fellow sailor,

was drowned while the schooner ‘Elizabeth Drew’ was berthed at New Ross in 1933.

William Perrott of Wales was drowned in 1933 while attempting to swim ashore from the ketch ‘Daisy’ while it was moored in Upper Youghal Harbour. There is a memorial to William chiselled into the rock near Youghal Lighthouse and he is buried in Templemichael graveyard.

Tommy Smyth of the Alms Houses was lost overboard at Rouen in france in 1933.

William John Coleman of Quay Lane died aboard ship in 1936 on the way to Australia. He was buried at sea.

Captain Michael Duggan of Church Street was lost on the ‘Nellie Fleming’ which foundered without trace between the Bristol Channel and Youghal in February 1936. Also lost on the same vessel were: Batty Glavin, on the way home to his daughter’s wedding; Eddie Sullivan of Raheen Road on his first voyage as cabin boy; Dan Kenneally of The Mall, father of a large family; and Declan Doyle of Penders Lane, eighteen years of age.

William Ring of 135 North Main Street was lost overboard in Cardiff Docks in 1937. Having managed to hold onto a rope all night, he died the following morning from exposure.

John Doyle from Gallagher Terrace fell overboard while on a voyage to Australia in 1938. He was a brother to Declan Doyle, lost on the ‘Nellie Fleming’ two years earlier.

Connie Troy of Windmill Hill was electrocuted while repairing his fishing boat at Cobh in 1946.

Michael O’Regan of South Cross Road was serving in the Irish Naval Service on the ‘L.E. Cliona’ in 1952. He took ill on board, was brought to hospital but sadly died at just eighteen.

Patrick Sullivan of South Cross Road, was lost overboard at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1962.

 

Teddy Murphy of Kent Street, was struck down with appendicitis at sea in 1962 on the ship ‘Ordinance’. He died in Dunkirk hospital.

Tom Paul Ring of Sarsfield Terrace and Joey Gaule of Mall Lane died while asleep in their bunks on the ‘Irish Sycamore’ as it lay docked in New Orleans in 1965. Smoke inhalation was the cause of death when a fire started in an empty cabin next door.

Gerry Griffin of Brown Street, was lost overboard from the ‘Mossville’ while berthed at Cork in 1967. It was said that a plank gangway collapsed.

Noel O’Brien of De Valera Street died when he fell overboard from a dredger on the river Thames in 1968.

Joe Higgins of Strand Street fell between vessel and quay at Greenock in Scotland in 1970 and was drowned. The ship was the ‘M.V. St. William’.

 

Timothy J. Harnedy from Inchiquin, Killeagh was drowned in 1982 while swimming at Bondi Beach in Australia. Ted was the ship’s radio officer and was on leave, awaiting a plane home.

James Jessie Collins of Raheen Road, died on the tanker ‘Rathcoyle’ in 1994. Asleep in his bunk, while docked at Ellesmere Port near Chester, he died of a heart attack.

Fishermen who died in River, Harbour and Bay tragedies.

James Hannigan of Wesley Place, drowned when a salmon yawl overturned in Youghal Harbour in 1886. Connie Glavin of Greens Quay was also lost in that disaster.

Two Flaherty brothers and two Mulcahy brothers of Monatrea, were drowned when their salmon boat capsized at Mangans Cove in 1887.

Four men were drowned near the Metal Bridge in 1892 when their salmon yawl turned over. They were Maurice Keogh, Maurice Fleming, William Keating and John White — all were from Ardsallagh. They were using a dipping-lug sail at the time with which it was hard to change tack.

John Hogan of Ardsallagh went for a swim in 1916 at the High Rock near Fleming’s Ferry, between fishing the tides., and it cost him his life. He had his passage booked to America and a tailor named Bride in Youghal was making a suit of clothes for him.

Tommy Smith of Primrose Lane, was drowned in Youghal Harbour in 1923 when his salmon boat captized. With him and also lost were Pats Murray of Monatrea and Tom Aher of Porters Lane. Saved that day was Mike Hannigan, who was Cox of the local lifeboat for years.

Bob Foley of Water treet was drowned when another salmon boat turned over in 1927. Also lost then were Declan Kenure of Windmill Lane and Jim Boland of Water Street.

Then in 1933, yet another salmon yawl capsized on the river. Drowned that day were Johnny Brennan of The Mall and Tommy Truxie Griffin of Mill Road. Rescued were Tommy Muta Heaphy and Mike O’Neill.

Mick O’Brien-Stokes of Sarsfield Terrace died of a heart attack in his boat while fishing down the harbour in 1949.

Paddy Barry of Ceann a Bhotair (Redbarn) received severe head injuries when his boat turned over off the beach at Redbarn in 1954. He died of his injuries in hospital.

Declan Hannon of South Main Street was lost overboard from a fishing boat in Waterford Harbour in 1972.

 

 

Danny Twohig of Blackwater Heights suffered a heart attack while hauling his nets on the river in 1992. He died in the boat.

Lost at War

Richard Ahern of Youghal, died when the ‘H.M.S. Goliah’ was sunk in 1915.

William Patrick Nolan of Brown Street, died in the sinking of ‘H.M.S. Defence’ in 1916.

 

Michael Mulcahy of Ardmore was killed when the ‘H.M.S. Indefatigable’ was sunk in 1916.

Maurice McGrath of the Clock Gate, died on the ‘H.M.S. Davis’ in 1917.

John Hyde of the Ferrypoint, died when the ‘H.M.S. Cornwall’ went down in 1918.

When the ‘H.M.S. Laurentic’ hit a minefield off Malin Head near Derry in 1917, it cost the lives of four Youghal sailors. They were: Patrick Brennan and John Buckley, both of The Mall; William Lynch, Buckley’s Lane; and Jacky O’Brien, Windmill Lane.

William Glavin of Windmill Hill was lost when the minesweeper ‘Mignonette’ was torpedoed off the Cork coast in 1917.

Tommy Stack of South Cross Road, Miley Long of Water Street and Jack Murphy of South Main Street died in 1940 when the aircraft carrier ‘H.M.S. Glorious’ was sunk by battle cruisers in the North Sea.

Brendan Murphy of Market square and William Kirby of The Mall died on the cruiser ‘H.M.S. Gallatea’ when it was torpedoed and sunk off Alexandria in 1941. It sank in ninety seconds.

Two more Youghal men died when the battleship ‘H.M.S. Barham’ was torpedoed and sunk off Alexandria in 1941. They were Jerry Connolly of Cork Hill and Bobby Webster of Sarsfield Terrace. The two men were stokers down below and had little chance of escape following the four torpedo hits.

Tommy Roche of Water Street died when the armed trawler ‘Lincoln City’ was sunk in the North Atlantic in 1941. He is buried on the Faroe Islands.

Jimmy Walsh of Raheen Road lost his life early during the Second World War when his ship, a merchantman, was sunk by a torpedo. It is said that in his house was a picture of a sailor returning home with his bag over his shoulder and his family running to greet him. On the night that Jimmy died at sea, the picture fell off the wall for no apparent reason — the cord had not broken and the nail was still firmly stuck in the wall.

Bill Kelly of Market Square was killed when his vessel, the ‘Swiftpool’ was bombed while moored on the Thames river.

 

Maurice Cooney of Kent Street, on another merchantman, was killed by U boat action in 1941.

 

Tommy Mulcahy of Market Square died on the ‘Kingston Hill’ after it was torpedoed in 1941. He was engaged to be married.

John Ronayne of South Cross Road was in the merchant navy and was lost as a result of U boat action early in the war.

Edward Fowkes of Ashe Street was on the ‘Shakespeare’ during an aircraft attack on the ship. He was killed on deck.

Peter Lynch of Church Street lost his life when ‘S.S. Milos’ was torpedoed and sunk in 1942. His parents later lived in the house which had been the Fever Hospital at Raheen Road.

Alfie Hartnett of Barrys Lane was on the ‘Irish Pine’ when it was sunk by U-608 in the North Atlantic in 1942. The ‘Irish Pine’ was clearly showing neutral markings and was lit up to show the Irish connection. It was a bad decision on the part of the U boat captain.

Connie Glavin of Cork Hill died when his vessel the ‘S.S. Miriam

Thomas’ was run over by an American troop ship in the Irish Sea. There was no survivor from Connie’s ship after that calamity.

Eddie Glavin of Cork Hill, Connie’s brother, died when his ship was torpedoed, just three days out of New Zealand, in 1943.

Michael Lynch of Kent Street fell ill on board his ship ‘S.S. British Renown’ in 1944 and died. He is buried on the Isle of Wight.

Paddy McGrath of Strand Street died when the ‘S.S. Empire Heritage’ was sunk by a mine in 1944. He had earlier survived two sinkings by torpedo in the North Atlantic.

More Youghal Seaman Lost

Captain William O’Brien of The Mall was drowned when he fell overboard at Greens Quay from the ‘Rob Roy’ in 1900. It seems that he had been asleep in his bunk for awhile before he awoke to find the ship ranging (beginning to tug) at her ropes due to a build-up of sea swell. A storm was imminent! William got up to adjust the fenders of the vessel, ensuring that it would not damage itself against the quay wall. Tragically, in the process, he fell overboard and was drowned.

Another Captain, William Jones of Friar Street, was lost from the ‘S.S.’ Athena’ as the vessel navigated the Majellan Straits in Southern Argentina. It happened in 1904, ten years before the opening of the Panama Canal. At that time, the only way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic for large ships was around Cape Horn, or via the nearby Majellan Straits for smaller ones.

 

When the ‘Hiland Mar’ went onto the rocks at Ardo Head near Ardmore in 1894, it cost the lives of two Youghal sailors. They were named as seamen Bennet and Fenton and both were from the Windmill Hill area. The ‘Hiland Mar’ was carrying steel for an extension to the Youghal Brickworks on that ill-fated voyage. The skipper — Captain Nagle of The Mall — escaped by climbing the cliffs to reach the nearby house of the Terry family.

 

In the second half of the last century, two disasters in Ardmore cost the lives of four of their salmon fishermen. On both occasions, the boats overturned. Lost to the sea in 1982 were: Liam Lincoln and Tom Morrissey of Ardmore.

Then in 1995 cousins Paul Dunne and Edmond Fitzgerald also died in similar circumstances when they were drowned while salmon fishing at Ardmore.

The total number listed here ( and this may not be complete ) is ninety-four.

God grant peace to all their souls.

The screening of the film “The Sea the Boat and Me” took place last Saturday (August 7th 2010 ) in The Mall Arts Centre, Youghal. Brendan Ahern who made the film gave a brief questions and answers session after the screening. Copies of the DVD and T shirts were also on sale, for further information call 083 360 6507. Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com

The Sea the Boat and Me covers the restoration and relaunch of the Kathleen & May, the only remaining three masted wooden topsail schooner and her second maiden voyage to Youghal, Ireland. It is the story of the passion the boat evokes in the people who have worked on her as original sailing crew or modern day restoration crew.

The Continuing Story of the Kathleen and May is a film about just that – the boat, the sea, the crew, the life, the stories, the history. But there’s more than that. Yes. Something else. .There’s the passion – of the crew, of the captains, of the seafaring way of life, of the people who are restoring her today, of Steve Clarke who rescued her from decay at a Gloucester dock. And who was Captain Joe, my grandfather? Of my own fascination with the sea, water, just the water and the tales it has to tell.

Click on image to enlarge

FREE screening of this great film on Saturday, August 7th in The Mall Arts Centre at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm.

The Sea the Boat and Me covers the restoration and relaunch of the Kathleen & May, the only remaining three masted wooden topsail schooner and her second maiden voyage to Youghal, Ireland. It is the story of the passion the boat evokes in the people who have worked on her as original sailing crew or modern day restoration crew.

It is also a personal journey into the past, and an exploration of a way of life now long gone, which this unique boat represents.

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brendan Ahern, grandson of Captain Joe Ahern who sailed the Lizzie May to Ireland in 1908 where she was renamed Kathleen & May.

“I’m a young fella looking down at the water, the blue water, tibbling up and splashing around and I remember the father came along and put his arm around me shoulder and he says “take good care of it, it can be your best friend and be your biggest enemy”. Wasn’t he right.”

At my father’s funeral I met an elderly relative of mine who introduced himself: “My name is Pa Aherne, I sailed with your grandfather, Captain Joe, 70 years ago”. This introduction had such an impact on me that I decided I had to know more about this man, his stories of the sea, the old port of Youghal and the boat he had sailed on “The Kathleen & May”

The Continuing Story of the Kathleen and May is a film about just that – the boat, the sea, the crew, the life, the stories, the history. But there’s more than that. Yes. Something else. .There’s the passion – of the crew, of the captains, of the seafaring way of life, of the people who are restoring her today, of Steve Clarke who rescued her from decay at a Gloucester dock. And who was Captain Joe, my grandfather? Of my own fascination with the sea, water, just the water and the tales it has to tell.

“As a kid I never really saw the sea, didn’t have to see it, it was always there …just didn’t see it at the time. It was there at the top of the hill”.

The passion, however it bites, when it bites, that’s it, you’re hooked.

FREE screening of this great film on Saturday, August 7th in The Mall Arts Centre at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm.

Copies of the DVD will be on sale after the screening.

For further information call 083 360 6507

Re: Indoor film screening of ‘The Sea, The Boat & Me: the continuing story of the Kathleen & May. Report Christy Parker/ Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

At the february meeting of Youghal Town Council, members were circulated with a letter from filmmaker Brendan Ahern (Amsterdam) regarding to stage an indoor screening of the above documentary. Mr. Ahern wishes to offer the film to RTE but would wish to have it screened at the Mall Arts Centre first. However, the estimated screening cost is €10,000, inclusive of technical support and travelling expenses, etc. Town Clerk Liam Ryan said the Kathleen & May Fund currently holds €2, 500 and the remainder might need to be accumulated through sponsorship and/or donations. Mayor Casey pledged a €200 donation. Cllr Linehan Foley suggested it form part of a festival funding project, before Mr Ryan considered it be past to the Kathleen & May committee, of which he remains secretary. Cllr Murray proposed that, whatever the outcome, the Council acquire a copy of the film for any future heritage projects or such. This was unanimously agreed. Read more