On 13 February 1884 the fully rigged sailing ship Stowell Brown came to grief on the sand bar above Creaden Head, one of several ships caught out in a terrific February storm that year. A regular and popular guest contributor to our page, David Carroll has the story....
On Tuesday 6th January 1852 the American sailing ship Columbus went ashore to the east of Hook Lighthouse and was wrecked. Despite the efforts of those onshore 14 were lost including three female passengers. It was arguably an avoidable tragedy but as is often the...
In a follow up to an earlier article on the life and times of Irish Master Mariner Albert Bestic, author David Carroll affords a second installment of Bestic's career -the tragic sinking of the Irish Lights Vessel Isolda on 19th December 1940. Take it away David:...
Captain Tom Donohue of Co. Waterford was a sea captain who sailed throughout the Irish Emergency to keep the country supplied with basic foodstuffs and other essential supplies. He survived many scrapes including one of of the most famous rescues at sea in the era by the MV Kerlogue crew
On a dark December night off the coast of Dunmore East, the pilot boat Gannet spotted an incoming steamer and sailed on a line upriver to intercept. The action would lead to the loss of the pilot boat and an unholy row in Waterford that would see the court of...
I'm indebted to David Carroll for this On This Day contribution to the blog today August 19th 2021. In it, David, who has written several guest features, explores the near-tragedy that occurred this day in 1988. Thankfully the keen eyes of a child playing at Dunmore...
A recent email from Donie Brazil with an image from Dunmore of a steamship caused a fair amount of research on my part. Donie had an image from his aunt's collection of a ship tied up at the East Pier in Dunmore, which could have easily been dismissed as a large...
The Irish newspapers of Christmas 1831 were alight with speculation after a ship sailed onto the sand banks of Bannow, Co Wexford with no crew. Aboard was a full cargo, some blood-stained clothing, a box of silver dollars and a dog. The ship was the La Bonne Julie of...
I would like to thank David Carroll for this guest post on Captain Albert Bestic who served aboard the RMS Lusitania which was torpedoed on this day, May 7th 1915. Third Officer Bestic was one of those that survived. Over now to David for his account. Growing up in...
On a blustery Thursday afternoon, January 27th 1869, five Coastguard men said goodbye to their wives and children before leaving their homes in Dunmore East and traveling to Waterford city. The purpose was to collect a new lifeboat to be used at their station on the...
A guest blog by David Carroll In 2024, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution will be celebrating two hundred years of saving lives of sea. The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded in London on March 4th, 1824 by Sir...
A recent announcement that the Port of Waterford had commissioned a new pilot boat to be called the Portlairge II prompted a flurry of communication to me asking for details and some of the history of the pilots. So this months blog is a journey from 1816 to the...
A guest blog by David Carroll tells the tragic loss of the barque Venus B on Feb 21st 1885 at Ballymacaw and how it lived long in local folklore From 1937 to 1939, the Irish Folklore Commission enlisted more than 50,000 schoolchildren from 5,000 schools in Ireland to...
A guest post courtesy of Liam Cheasty and Pat Sheridan A centenary is defined as the one hundred anniversary of a significant event and in 2021 there will be many related to the War of Independence and partition of Ireland in 1921. However, while conflict and strife...
The arrival of Dauntless Courage, Celebrating the History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community was greeted with a wave of conflicting emotions this week. Joy at seeing the book finally in print, tears of relief...
On a dark tempestuous winter's evening, the brig Glencoe was blown onto the rocks at Ballymacaw to the west of Dunmore East. As the winds howled and the seas crashed and washed over the ship her 13 man crew had little hope of survival but those on shore had seen this...
As any blog regular will know, the lifeboats and their actions are a feature of so many of the stories on Tides and Tales. So it is with great anticipation that we look forward to the forthcoming Dauntless Courage, a history of the Dunmore East Lifeboat Station in the...
On Saturday night, 12th Nov 1955 a collision in the River Mersey involving three ships saw one ship sink, 9 crewmen struggle for an hour without lifejackets in freezing water and a dramatic rescue which included three young seamen from the village of Cheekpoint Co...
When the owners of the four-masted iron hulled sailing barque Earl of Beaconsfield (1883) saw their new ship enter the River Clyde, they must have hoped for a handsome return on their investment. But although fate has a large role to play in anything to do with...
On Saturday morning, 30th October 1875 the schooner Mino of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford was run ashore on the Wexford shore by her captain and crew. Aground on the sandy shoreline the first wave to break over her stern carried the timbers away and this was quickly...
On a dark November night in storm-force winds and driving rain, an Arklow schooner scurried up Waterford harbour in search of shelter. Within sight of the Spit Light below Passage East, the ship healed over stuck fast in the sand and her crew took to the rigging from...
It was just about midnight on a calm moonlit night in Waterford Harbour. Aboard the WWI mine laying submarine UC-44, her skipper, Kurt Tebbenjoahnnes, satisfied himself as to their position and gave the orders to start deploying her load. The UC class of sub were a...
Òn Saturday evening, 23rd November 1872 the SS Kinsale grounded on the Wexford side of Waterford harbour at a spot known locally as the Hell Hole. It was an appropriate name for the events that were to follow and it resulted in one of the largest losses of life in the harbour that I am aware of.
On a bright but blustery dawn in June 1928 three vessels departed Waterford’s quays. Leading the small convoy was a powerful tug, towing two old sailing ships. Although the tug was a stranger to the city, the sailing ships were anything but. To anyone looking on the scene must have proven ironic if not ignominious. For these were the ports last sailing vessels Zayda and the Madcap; and they had given over fifty years loyal and trusted service to the city, only to be made redundant by steam power.
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