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It’s Never ‘Just a Wreck’. The MV Cameo.

Even though the young student had little need to describe the lost ship no more than a ‘total wreck’, there’s always a ‘story’. Commonly addressed by her last Christian name, Stella, Susan was actually the young woman’s first name; her second was Caroline after her mother. 1963, Spring arrived and Stella had only to pop […]
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Where Did You Get That Hat ?

The Diver and his Red Cap A reader might expect that the familiar image of the celebrated diver and adventurer, Jacque Cousteau, depicted in his red woolly hat says it all. The red divers’ hat, already emblematic, quickly became a fashion statement, but, without any explanation as to why a diver’s head covering should be […]
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An Uknown Unknown

A treasure, presently of inestimable value, was recovered from a shipwreck at the Greek island, Antikythera, NW of the island, Crete, in 1901. This small island is strategically located across the route from the Aegean Sea into the Western Mediterranean and known to have been the haunt of pirates for centuries. This remarkable find takes […]
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all-measures-necessary

EPILOGUE OF A DISEASE

All Measures Necessary – Where They a Success?   There has been few events in history that one can point to and say, ‘they changed the world’. ‘Change’ in this case, meaning profound or even philosophical.  There were many, after which the world did change, but over a very long period, like the onset of […]
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Battle Of The Piers

At 2.30 PM, Sunday, September 7, 1845, a large public meeting was convened at Kingstown [Note 1.], on the property of builder, James Nugent. The topic was Repeal of the Union, and a large crowd with a number of celebrated speakers attended. Among them was the colourful emancipationist, Thomas Steele, who stirred the crowd with […]
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Drevar’s Gold & Wellington Pennies

A Tale of Shipwreck and Lost Treasure   The Banks Many will be aware, and unfortunately for some, they will also remember only too well, how Banks can ‘fail’. The term is of course not an honest assessment of events when due governance and propriety are recklessly abandoned in favour of greed. Terms like ‘maximising […]
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Bay of Shipwrecks

Local Wexford people know it as the, ‘Graveyard of a Thousand Ships’. There are that many lost ships there, and probably some more. The primary reason for such a large amount of unfortunate losses is quite simple – traffic. This part of Ireland represents a major crossroads for shipping, of increased importance, and more fatal […]
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U-Boats Sink the Mail-Boat Leinster and Others in the Irish Channel

The Atlantic Gateway  (Jim Phelan 1941) When ships crossed the channel between Ireland and England during WWI, they were attacked and sunk by German submarines. The loss of ships, Irish or not, with civilians, service men and women, was not only condemned by those considered to be ‘West Brits’, but anger and a sense of […]
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A Riddle of Sand

It is often said that there is too much ‘rubbish’ information on the web. To be sure, there is rubbish but there’s rubbish everywhere. There is certainly not so much that the internet should not be used for research. This would of course be foolish. Like all vaults of information, one must discriminate and discard […]
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The Flanders Flotilla in Irish Waters WW1

The repeated claims that America declared against Germany during WW1 because her citizens and ships had been attacked by German U-boats is not accurate. Though the U-boats were restrained as a result of American diplomatic protests, America did not enter the war at that time, and when they did, it was for different reasons. This […]