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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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‘The Slaughterhouse of the East Coast’ – Loss of the Pomona, 1859.

An account of the harrowing loss of the emigrant ship, Pomona, 1859    ‘Arranged side by side, they lay locked in the sleep of death, and the lifeless, which a few hours past were lighted up with life and animation, had become sickening objects, from which the heart recoiled…the eyes seemed directed to that haven […]
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THE POOKA of MONAMUC

( This picture of the remains of a large pike was taken by author during very low levels on Blessington reservoir.) They built a huge wall and dammed the waters of two rivers; the Liffey and the Kings River. Both had joined at Baltyboys and cascaded into the dark pool near Ballymore Eustace, known as […]
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The Buttons

‘The Most Abandoned Villains of Wexford’

‘The Most Abandoned Villains of Wexford’ Some say it’s the deep sounding whoosh from the revolving blades of the enormous turbines at Carnsore Point, in county Wexford. But when they rest, others will offer; it’s the confusion of winds that can blow around this large expanse of low lands, a place of prolonged periods of […]
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WHEN IS A WRECK NOT A WRECK ?

When is a Wreck not a Wreck? An answer seems easy, but not always obvious. A ship that has been wrecked might be raised and then float again. It might sink again, immediately, or soon after – and declared a wreck once more. It may be repaired, and live out many more years afloat. Alternatively, […]
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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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‘Murphy’s Sub’

After all those years. We followed up on every bar-room story, endless tales by fishermen, and all of the mucky folklore that was ever recounted about this wreck – that of a submarine lying on the Arklow Bank. Probably known to many now, a much abbreviated version of the tale goes as follows. In 1917 […]
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Between The Tides (Shipwrecks on the Irish Coast)

  Link to Amberley Books – https://www.amberley-books.com/between-the-tides.html   Between The Tides is a new book just launched by the author of this site. Supported by a large volume research, and accounts of a number of historic instances that have occurred around the coast of Ireland, the author sets out to examine the history of shipwreck, and […]
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“The South Arklow Light Vessel has Disappeared”

Accurate, but defying an explanation, the announcement as it appears above, was posted in the Custom House, Dublin, on March 31, 1917. Its brevity can be partly explained by war time secrecy, and an importance in preventing the general public and the German navy becoming familiar with British naval matters. The statement did nevertheless indicate […]
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Comte de Belgioioso an Odyssey

Ostendse Compagnie The ongoing research and hunt for the remains of the ship ‘Count de Belgioioso’ is fascinating story on many levels. And more, it has been an exciting journey. As much as I would love to recount the whole story here, one that would deservingly fill many pages, it is therefore much too lengthy […]