A German submarine sank the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company’s RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Connaught, about which much less is known than its sister ship, the RMS Leinster, which was sunk with huge loss of life off Dun Laoghaire.
The Connaught went down on March 3, 1917 with the loss of three crew. The Leinster had a death toll which was probably in excess of 500, maybe as much as 550, according to recently-disclosed figures.
I learned a lot more about the Connaught when I met distinguished author and history, Philip Lecane at the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire, which has records and artefacts of the four RMS ships of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.
I was recording an interview with him for the current edition of THIS ISLAND NATION radio programme. The City of Dublin Steam Packed named four ships after Ireland’s four Provinces and Philip told me that these ships were said to have an unique attraction for women – ladies didn’t suffer from seasickness aboard them!
That would be a major attraction for any ships on the regular ferry runs from Ireland to Britain!
Philip’s account of the Connaught is detailed and fascinating, including how he describes that she had her revenge on the submarine which sank her.
There is always something unusual to be learned about the sea, as I regularly tell listeners. On this programme I found that to be quite true… Listen to the programme here:
