On Saturday 06 November 1948 the Waterford Standard newspaper published a very interesting letter from a reader simply identified as JBW. Much of the vessels named are well known to the blog, but others less so. However I decided to publish the entire piece for others as many of the details are intriguing, his knowledge of the ships captains useful and his mention of steering a paddle steamer upriver and availing of slack tides a fabulous detail that would probably be unknown to the vast majority of our readers.

SUIRSIDE MEMORIES Sir—l saw in your local paper “The Waterford Standard” that Mr, H. Ridgeway was making mention of the old steamers of The Waterford Steamship Company cross-channel and river steamers. The following information may interest him.

I remember seeing the SS Ranger (1846) lying at anchor with pumps working to keep her afloat. She had run ashore in thick fog in a bay at the sea-side of Hook Tower and had just been got off and was on her way to Waterford. I don’t know whether the repairs were done in Neptune Foundry or whether she was sent to Liverpool. At any. rate she was repaired and back on the Waterford to Liverpool service. Capt. John Walsh was in command of her for some time. She had hardly any accommodation for passengers—just small saloon right aft and a couple of berths for passengers, where they felt every motion of the propellor.

Another old steamer was the SS Dublin; she spent lot of her time under charter carrying Guinness Stout from Dublin to Liverpool, and she also did some tramping round the Irish coast, carrying coal. She was in charge of Capt. Murray—a great old coaster captain. I think she and the Ranger were sold to be scrapped.[I have no details on the Dublin as yet but the Ranger was sold out of Waterford in 1882 and was finally broken up in Italy in 1902]

The next cross-Channel steamer was the Zypher (1860) she was built at Waterford and was in the cattle carrying trade between Waterford and Liverpool. She was chartered for 12 or 18 months to some West India Co., carrying cattle between the Islands. Captain Coffer was in command and Captain Kavanagh was his chief office —she carried some relief troops to take the place of troops due to be sent home. On her return she again went on the Waterford to Liverpool trade and on the trip she got into a gale of wind and was thrown on her beam ends, killing or injuring all the cattle, but managed to crawl into Holyhead for shelter.

The SS Gipsey (1858/9) was lost in Bristol Pier; don’t know where she was built [she was built in Waterford, and lost in the River Avon in 1878]. The Reginald  (1878) came out to replace her and was on the Bristol run with Capt. Burns in command. The SS Lara (1868) was the last cross-Channel steamer built in Neptune Foundry.[ They bulit the SS Magnet for Tedcastles of Dublin in 1869] She was a very comfortable ship and carried a big cargo of cattle. She had a big, wooden saloon on her upper deck; she was reboilered and reconditioned at Londonderry and had a nice small saloon and berths on the main deck. Captain Wentworth Wade was in command.

SS Reginald

The SS Comeragh (1879) then put; she was not a comfortable ship as she hadn’t enough power. The Dunbrody (1886) then came out and was put on Bristol trade in charge of Capt. Burns, while Capt. Coffee was in command of Reginald. I don’t know what became of the Zephyr, whether she was sold or scrapped.

The captains I remember were: Captains Burns, Coffee, Caltyghan, [Possibly Callaghan?] Wade, Minards, Collins and Kavanagh. Then Captain Lumley, who was in Wexford and Bristol trade, got command in the Waterford Service.

When the Clodagh (1859) came out Capt. Wade was in charge. Capt. Toole was in the SS Lara for a while; then there was Captain Farrell, afterwards Harbour Master. I remember Captain Toole first in the PS Tintern and when he got command in the Lara, Capt. Jacob was in the Tintern.

The Tintern, (1859) Rosa (1862), and Vandeleur (1866) were all built at Waterford, and when the opposition tug came from Queenstown in charge of Captain Cotter, the Waterford Steamship Co. took the Tintern off her usual run and ran her as a tug in charge of Captain Rarcielft, and the Rosa took the Duncannon-Waterford service.

Several of us school boys went to Waterford daily to the Grammar School, and all had our trick at the wheel, steering the steamer, and soon knew all the bits of slack tide. As soon as the mate (Andrew Power) saw we knew the river he told one of us to take the wheel and he disappeared off the bridge until we came abreast of the Neptune Foundry, when he would come up and take the wheel. Us boys knew every bit of slack tide and how to make the most of it and how close we could safely hug the shore.

There was another small steamer, the SS Express (1870), supposed to be big, but had very little power and sometimes used to be put on the Waterford- Duncannnon route, and gave the passengers a good long time on the river for their money. I don’t know what became of her. [The Express was sold to English interests in 1882 and was wrecked 22/10/1886]. When the opposition tug was beaten off, the Waterford ss. Co. had the Dauntless (1882) built on the east coast of England, and Captain Cotter joined her as master; she was sold, and then a tug called Resolute was built (1880 and sold on the following year) —she was not as powerful as the Dauntless and was also sold. Then a tug called the President was in her place for a short time; she was sold and the river steamers Tintern, Ida (1867) or Rosa, if in Waterford, did the towing. The Rosa spent most of her time trading round Tralee.  The Vandeleur was on the Shannon to Kilfush run. When the Tintern was condemned, the Vandeleur was reconditioned and put on the Waterford-Duncannon service, in charge of Capt. Cotter. Capt. Jacob went officer of the cross-Channel steamers; Captain Cotter had no certificate so could not go on a cross-Channel passenger steamer as first or second officer.

Ida at Cheekpoint Quay courtesy of Andy Kelly Collection

A small screw steamer called the SS Erin did a weekly service from Waterford to Dungarvan, for some time. The Rosa and Ida were in collision just above Cheekpoint—the Rosa coming from Youghal with pigs, and the Ida going to New Ross with passengers. The Rosa ran ashore to prevent sinking, and the PS Ida returned to Waterford with her bows stove in.

JBW

First published in the Waterford Standard – Saturday 06 November 1948; page 7.  How I would have loved to sit down with this gentleman and ask him some further details. I realise that I can’t verify this full account, however many of the events have featured on the blog before and I hope to do more digging to clarify the ships and the masters. Anything I have found thus far is included in brackets, including the launch dates, etc. I got much of the details added thus far from the work of Bill Irish and Malcolm McRonald. 

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