Limerick Ketch Ilen's Arrival In London Recalls Irish Tricolour Featured On British Stamp

28th April 2022

The Falkland Islands postage stamp of 2001 featured an Irish tricolour to honour the origins of Ilen, while also revealing her very practical propellor installation

Following the departure last Saturday for her 700-mile Limerick-London voyage, the trading ketch Ilen under the command of Ilen Marine School Director Gary Mac Mahon was able to sail the track as far as Land's End
in Cornwall, which she rounded on Monday afternoon. But since then with persistent (and at times very cold) easterlies in the English Channel, in order to make progress, it has been necessary to knuckle down and rely on
the trusty classic Gardiner auxiliary diesel to move the 1926-vintage 56-footer on her way.

But as it happens, although the Ilen originator Conor O'Brien was a devoted sailing enthusiast, when the Falkland Islands Company insisted on an adequate auxiliary engine, he brought his practicality as an architect to the task. Thus as the profile of the ship in this Falkland Islands commemorative stamp of 2001 reveals, he ensured that the entire aperture for the propellor was taken out of the deadwood of the hull, while the almost vertical and complete rudder optimises prop-thrust for the tight manoeuvring essential in some of the very confined berthing areas in the islands.

Any boat with a heavily-raked rudder from which a large aperture has been removed to accommodate the propellor is at a complete manoeuvrability disadvantage by comparison with this setup. So not surprisingly, Ilen is
fondly remembered in the Falklands for her user-friendly handling characteristics under power, and when the restoration project was underway in 2001, they ensured that for possibly the first tme ever, the Irish tricolour appeared on a British postage stamp.

Progress has been good this week under O'Brien's excellent engine arrangement, and this morning (Thursday) Ilen is now on a westerly heading up the Thames Estuary, well on time for arrival in St Katharine Dock where the main official event will be staged next Wednesday (May 4th) at 3.0pm.

Ilen's track-chart this morning (Thursday) into the Thames Estuary also records the persistent easterlies

Published in Ilen, Conor O'Brien

Published in Ilen

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About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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Ireland's Trading Ketch Ilen

The Ilen is the last of Ireland’s traditional wooden sailing ships.

Designed by Limerick man Conor O’Brien and built in Baltimore in 1926, she was delivered by Munster men to the Falkland Islands where she served valiantly for seventy years, enduring and enjoying the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and Screaming Sixties.

Returned now to Ireland and given a new breath of life, Ilen may be described as the last of Ireland’s timber-built ocean-going sailing ships, yet at a mere 56ft, it is capable of visiting most of the small harbours of Ireland.

Wooden Sailing Ship Ilen FAQs

What is the Ilen?

The Ilen is the last of Ireland’s traditional wooden sailing ships.

Who designed the Ilen?

The Ilen was designed by Conor O’Brien, the first Irish man to circumnavigate the world.

Where does the name Ilen get her name?

Ilen is named for the West Cork River which flows to the sea at Baltimore, her home port.

Who built the Ilen?

The Ilen was built by Baltimore Sea Fisheries School, West Cork in 1926. Tom Moynihan was foreman.

What is Ilen built from?

Ilen's wood construction is of oak ribs and planks of larch.

What are the dimensions of the lIen?

As-built initially, she is 56 feet in length overall with a beam of 14 feet and a displacement of 45 tonnes.

How did the Ilen get from Baltimore to the Falkland Islands in 1926?

Conor O’Brien set sail in August 1926 with two Cadogan cousins from Cape Clear in West Cork, arriving at Port Stanley in January 1927 and handed it over to the new owners.

How much did the Ilen cost in 1926?

The Ilen was delivered to the Falkland Islands Company, in exchange for £1,500.

What roles has Ilen performed in her lifetime?

Ilen served for over 70 years as a cargo ship and a ferry in the Falkland Islands, enduring and enjoying the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and Screaming Sixties. She stayed in service until the early 1990s.

Who from Ireland rediscovered the Ilen in the Falkland Islands?

Limerick sailor Gary McMahon and his team located Ilen. MacMahon started looking for her in 1996 and went out to the Falklands and struck a deal with the owner to bring her back to Ireland.

What condition was Ilen in when she was found in the Falkland Islands?

After a lifetime of hard work in the Falklands, Ilen required a ground-up rebuild.

How did the Ilen come back to Ireland?

A Russian cargo ship transported her back on a 12,000-mile trip from the Southern Oceans to Dublin. The Ilen was discharged at the Port of Dublin 1997, after an absence from Ireland of 70 years.

Who restored the Ilen?

It was a collaboration between the Ilen Project in Limerick and Hegarty’s Boatyard in Old Court, near Skibbereen. Much of the heavy lifting, of frames, planking, deadwood & backbone, knees, floors, shelves and stringers, deck beams, and carlins, was done in Hegarty’s. The generally lighter work of preparing sole, bulkheads, deck‐houses fixed furniture, fixtures & fittings, deck fittings, machinery, systems, tanks, spar making and rigging is being done at the Ilen boat building school in Limerick.

How long did it take to restore Ilen?

Ten years. The boat was much the worse for wear when it returned to West Cork in May 1998, and it remained dormant for ten years before the start of a decade-long restoration.

What is the role of the Ilen today?

Ilen now serves as a community floating classroom and cargo vessel – visiting 23 ports in 2019 and making a transatlantic crossing to Greenland as part of a relationship-building project to link youth in Limerick City with youth in Nuuk, west Greenland.