Antrim Man Searches For Spot Where Ancestor Died In 19th-Century Sailing Tragedy

8th August 2015

#BelfastLough - An Antrim man has unravelled the mystery behind the death of an ancestor while sailing on Belfast Lough more than 130 years ago.

As the Carrick Times reports, the Bryan family has long known that Matthew Shanks died during the Carrickfergus Regatta on 25 August 1879.

What they didn't know was how the tragedy occurred – until know, after Brian Smyth trawled the newspaper archives at Belfast Central Library to piece together the full story of the day's tragic events.

Now Smyth is attempting to find the modern-day location of his great-great-grandfather's death, noted in newspaper reports of the time as 'Oyster Bank'.

The Carrick Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Belfast Lough

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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