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Sinking of ship a tragedy for town
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There have been several ships named "Dundalk" but the most famous of these vessels was the 'S.S. Dundalk' which sunk off the Wirral Peninsula when sailing from Liverpool to her home port on the night of October 14, 1918.
It was just three weeks before the Armistice which ended the Great War and this passenger vessel had several narrow escapes while making the crossing of the Irish Sea during the war, so it might reasonably have been expected that she would survive tADVERTISEMENThe conflict. Indeed, only a few weeks earlier the Harbour Police at Liverpool had spotted the vessel sinking in the dock there and it was discovered that the sea cocks had been mysteriously left open.
Her Captain Hugh O'Neill, a native of the town, had earlier received a testimonial from the War Director of Shipping for saving his ship from another attack, by shell fire from a German raider.
But this night was to be a very unlucky one for the ship, its passengers and crew and the people of Dundalk.
There had been reports of a German U-boat active in this area of Irish sea but it must have seemed unlikely that a relatively small vessel like The Dundalk would be a target.
Yet she was hit by a torpedo somewhere between Anglesey and the Isle of Man and went down with the loss of 19 lives, including the Captain, who left a widow and five children.
There is a memorial on the wall of the Sacred Heart isle of St. Patrick's but, oddly, there are only 18 names on it, the reason given is that the family of one of the victims did not wish his name included.
The tragedy intruded greatly on the lives of many families in Dundalk, particularly as three other people from the town had died only four nights earlier when the Mail Steamer Leinster was also torpedoed off Dunlaoghaire.
The Mail Boat had been carrying military personnel back to the front lines but The Dundalk as a strictly civilian vessel meant its sinking was a great shock.
An entry in the Minute Book of the John Boyle O'Reilly Knights of Hibernia Friendly Benefit Society of meeting held in their hall at 30, Clanbrassil Street on Sunday October 20, 1918, gives a good picture of the sentiment in the town at the time. It reads:--
'The question of the sinking of the S.S. Dundalk was brought before the meeting and Bro A McEvoy and Bro P. Dumigan seconded the following resolution which was passed in silence and the meeting stood adjourned. "Resolved:-- That we the members of Division 98 (John Boyle O'Reilly) Dundalk desire to place on record our profound sympathy with the relatives of the crew of the S.S. Dundalk who lost their lives at sea".
This minute was signed by the Chairman of the branch Frank Sheridan.
A minute of a further meeting held on Sunday November 3 reads--
'The following resolution proposed by Bro P. Dumigan, seconded by Bro P. Baxter and carried.
"That the Division give £15 to the Fund inaugurated for the relief of the dependants of the S.S. Dundalk and that a minimum levy of 2/6 (an eight of a pound) be imposed on each member of the Division to realise this sum."
Which, I believe, must have been a pretty generous donation, considering working men only would have earned about a pound a week at the time
