Everyone in Ringsend now knows, thanks to the indefatigable research of maritime historian Cormac Lowth, that the state-of-the-art trawlers of Brixham in Devon in England established an out-station at the mouth of the Liffey in Dublin as their fishing areas expanded rapidly after the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815.
But what's less widely known is that the Ringsend fishery became so successful that it rivalled Brixham itself for the amount of fish landed. And in one aspect, it excelled the old home place. This was in
the matter of size of classic Brixham-style sailing trawlers being built.
The greater space available in Dublin port meant that the Murphy family of Ringsend were able to build for themselves, and then successfully fish, the largest-ever of the Brixham-style trawlers, the St Patrick.
She was a giant. More folk should know about her. And Cormac will tell all in Tallaght on Tuesday night.
The Big One. The St Patrick of Ringsend, the Murphy family's own-built and largest Brixham-style sailiing trawler
