On March 30^th 1918, a small steamer was chugging along the southern Irish coast. Of the thirteen souls aboard, eleven crew and two naval gunners, eight were from or living in the port city of Waterford. All would die that night, within sight of their homeland. Another statistic is the long and bloody balance sheet of the war to end all wars!

SS Lough Fisher

The SS Lough Fisher (1887) was a small coastal steamer operated by James Fisher & Sons Ltd., Barrow-In-Furness. She was built by MacIlwaine, Lewis & Co., Belfast was 51.2 x 7.6 x 3.7 (m), 418 GRT, her compound engine produced 61  n.h.p., providing a speed of  9  knots.

From the outset, the ship was employed in coastal trade, operating out of numerous Irish Sea ports and along the southern Irish coastline. A collier (coal boat) primarily, she carried coal inwards to Irish ports and pit props outwards when she could get them, but also sailed light (empty) or carried any other cargo she could get, including oats, grain, etc.

A later ship of the same name and belonging to Fishers, (John B Hill collection) accessed from https://shippingtandy.com/features/james-fisher-sons-ltd-of-barrow/

Calls to Waterford

The earliest calls I came across to Waterford were in the 1890s. As an example of the trade, on the week of 16^th May 1913 the port of Waterford saw her visit twice with coal, along with another company vessel – Sound Fisher. The cargos were consigned to Samuel Morris.  Five other coal ships were in that week, including steamers and sailing vessels. Occasionally, she was calling three times per week. It would seem that it was because of this familiarity with the city that so many of the crew men were from Waterford.

Final sailing

The end of the Lough Fisher is something of a mystery. She departed Cork City with a cargo of pit props on route to Garston in Liverpool. There were thirteen men aboard, which included two naval gunners who operated a bow-mounted gun to act as a deterrent against attack. The ship would have been listed as a Defensively Armed Merchant Ship (DAMS).

On March 30th, 1918, Lough Fisher was sunk after an engagement with the German submarine U-101 commanded by Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg. Most online accounts repeat the location as 12 miles SSE from Helvick Head, in West Waterford. However, that location seems to be where a lifeboat of the vessel was discovered the following day.

Many of the accounts online say she was shelled by the German submarine U-101. One online source from a relative of Captain Robert Murphy states that she was badly shelled, burst into flames, broke in two, and went down with all hands. However, I also read that the following day, a patrol vessel (armed trawler Sarba)came upon a very badly damaged lifeboat from the vessel. In their report, they said the lifeboat had shown signs of being shelled, and they could not determine if the crew were killed in the lifeboat or went down with the ship. They also discovered a bag inside the lifeboat which belonged to the ship’s captain.

Tower Hill Memorial, London

Crew of the Lough Fisher

Waterford natives or residing:

• William Hayden (17), Able Seaman, Son of Patrick and Mary Hayden (nee McDonnell), of 35, Upper Ferrybank, Waterford. Born at Waterford.
• Michael Hennessey (20), Able Seaman, Son of John and Margaret Hennessy (nee McNamara), of 7, Thomas Hill, Waterford. Born at Waterford.
• Thomas Keane (27), Fireman, Son of John and Brigid Keane (nee Dunne), of 70, Mulgrave Rd., Ferrybank, Waterford. Born at Waterford.
• Thomas Lenihan (18), Cook, Son of William and Anastasia Lenihan (nee Croke), of 8, Anne St., Waterford. Born at Waterford.
• Denis McCarthy (34), Fireman, Son of Bridget McCarthy (nee Henessey), of 83, Gallows Hill, Waterford, and the late Patrick McCarthy. Born at Waterford.
• Martin Morrissey (52), Mate, Son of Thomas and Mary Anne Morrissey; husband of Mary Morrissey (nee Hartery), of 15, O’Brien St., Waterford. Born at Waterford.
• Walter Power(66), Able Seaman, Son of the late Martin and Mary Power; husband of the late Catherine Power (nee Tubbit). Born in Co. Wexford,
• Simon Purcell (45), Able Seaman, Son of Mary Purcell and the late Michael Purcell; husband of Lucy Purcell (nee Byrne), of 5, Jail St., Waterford, Co. Waterford. Born at Bannon (Bannow?), Co. Wexford

The others aboard included;

• MURPHY, ROBERT (37), Master, Son of William John Murphy, of Ballywalter, Co. Down; husband of Jeannie Murphy, of 1, Dunleath Terrace, Ballywalter, Co. Down.
• CARTER, GEORGE (25), Ordinary Seaman, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Son of Elizabeth Carter, of 24, London Rd., Halesworth, Suffolk, and the late Samuel Carter,
• HYLAND, DANIEL (23), Leading Seaman, RN, Son of Mary A. Hyland, of 4, Camden Terrace, Silvester St., Liverpool, and the late James Hyland. Born in London.
• MASSA, JOSE F. INEZ (30), Fireman, Born in Spain
• STEWART, WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM (46), First Engineer, Son of Anne Stewart, and the late Daniel Stewart; husband of Alice Ninita Kate Boon Stewart (nee Edwards), of 3, Adair St. Seaside, Aberavon, Port Talbot, Glam. Born at Port Glasgow.

The names of the men of the Lough Fisher on a panel of the Tower Hill Memorial, London. Used with acknowledgement to the site: https://www.benjidog.co.uk/Tower%20Hill/WW1%20Lord%20Carnarvon%20to%20Lucida.php#Lough_Fisher

Waterford

So eight men of Waterford City are added to the loss of sixty-seven locals from the Formby and Coningbeg of a few months before. The reaction in the local press seems to have been muted, however. At the moment, the earliest mention I could find was over two weeks later when three lines in the Munster Express mentioned the loss of a collier with some local connections. No crowds were lining the quay on this occasion, and no families gathered outside the Clyde shipping company offices that would garner interest and focus attention. The differences between the shipping tragedies were obvious of course.

The Lough Fisher may have called regularly to Waterford, but it was not her home port. Unlike the Clyde steamers which sailed twice weekly for many years, hers was an occasional call. Familiar to the families and to the dockside workers and enthusiasts who followed all the shipping movements, but overlooked by the majority as just another ship! Related to this point, the shipping company that operated the vessel was not based or located in Waterford.

Family connection

The truth of the matter is, that although I had heard of the Lough Fisher, I had never made the connection between the loss and the city. I am obviously not alone in this, as there seems to have been little by way of local recognition for the incident. It was only last week that I became aware of it for a very specific and personal reason. Deena, my wife, had welcomed her Canadian cousins Deirdre and Triona into our home and talk started about family origins. They had started to research the family on their side and while visiting their aunt had received a great boost in help as their aunt Maura’s granddaughter Etain had done some digging. One nugget that stood out for me, was the Deena’s Gt Gt Grandfather Walter Power, originally from Templetown or perhaps Fethard, was lost on the Lough Fisher. The money received by Johanna Breen of Summerhill Terrace was a lady better known to Deena as ‘Mammy Jo’ and we often visited the house to call on her aunty Nancy.

Walter Power of Summerhill was a seafarer for many years, but as the oldest man aboard at 66, perhaps had the situation been different, he would have been at home enjoying retirement, or working along the city quays. Was Walter a replacement recruit due to the unwillingness of others to sail, or had he been aboard the ship for many years?

Obviously, much more research is required, but if you have any other details you could add to the incident or the other men from Waterford, I would be delighted to fill out their profiles and stories.

This story is made up of numerous newspaper reports of the era accessed from the Irish Newspaper Archive and the British Newspaper Archive. Other online sources were also accessed and the principal sites that I used are listed in the piece or below:

• https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?71342 
• https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/community/threads/centenary-of-ss-lough-fisher-sinking.38412/page-3
• https://uboat.net/wwi/men/commanders/85.html
• https://uboat.net/wwi/boats/?boat=101

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