Michael Tobin, the last surviving member of the crew of the Plassy which was wrecked on the Aran island of Inis Oírr, has died in his late eighties.
Tobin, who was originally from Parnell Street in Limerick, spent time at sea from a young age with the Limerick Steamship Company and Irish Shipping.
He was on board the Plassy, captained by Thomas Wilson, in March 1960 and the ship was en route from Kerry to Galway when it was caught in a storm and ran aground on Fínis rock near Inis Oírr.
The islanders brought the crew of 11 ashore using a breeches buoy hoist, which was in common use before the advent of search and rescue helicopters.
Mick wearing the Breeches Buoy during the 50th anniversary of the shipwreck Photo: Paddy Crowe
Tobin demonstrated how the breeches buoy worked when he paid a visit to the island in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of the shipwreck.
After he married Kay Tobin in 1968 and they started a family, he sought employment ashore to be closer to home and worked with Securicor, with Ferenka and with Aughinish Alumina.
His wife Kay says he loved singing and was a “good tenor”.
An article by Michael Kirwan published in the winter 2010 edition of the Limerick Journal recalled that the Plassy was 585 tons and registered in London and was the first motor vessel acquired by the company.
Originally an armed Admiralty steamship trawler built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell in Beverley, Yorkshire in 1941 as the Shakespearian class H.M.S Juliet, it was converted in 1947 to a motor vessel cargo ship. An extra hatch was fitted and renamed Peterjon.
In 1951 it was bought by Limerick Steamship Company Limited and renamed Plassy, trading as a tramp ship to such places as South Africa, Greece, Iceland, Finland and Russia.
In March 1960 the Plassy replaced the Derrynane, while the latter was in dry dock, on the Liverpool – Fenit – Galway run. It had discharged a cargo of steel in Fenit, County Kerry, for the Liebherr crane factory in Killarney.
After Fenit it was going to Galway with general cargo for towns in the Galway area. The voyage between Fenit and Galway was to take her about 12 to 14 hours, Kirwan wrote.
After leaving Fenit on Monday evening March 7th, the ship headed for Kerry Head and then crossed the Shannon Estuary for Loop Head. It passed about three to four miles off Loop Head and then altered course for Black Head off County Clare.
The plan was to pass through the South Sound between the Clare coast and Inis Oírr.
“The weather was atrocious at the time with a vigorous depression off the west coast of Ireland. Valentia Radio Station was broadcasting gale warnings on 2182kHz of gale force 8 to 9 with occasional storm force 10 with a southeast wind blowing,”Kirwan wrote.
It grounded on Fínis rock and several weeks later it was lifted off the rock and onto Inis Oírr’s shore.
The Plassy wreck has slightly moved position twice since 1960 - once in 1991 and again in 2014, both times due to storms.
It achieved a second run of fame as it appeared in the opening credits of the comedy series, Father Ted.
Michael Tobin is survived by his wife Kay, daughter Mary, sons Kevin and Stephen and extended family.
