Dundalk is where a team of divers from the Isle of Man visited the Co. Louth port town so to bring the bell of the steam ship flagship, S.S. Dundalk back to a grateful town.
As EnergyFM reports, divers of Discover Diving based in Port, St. Mary, on the Manx south coast, were guests of honour of Dundalk’s Louth County Museum.
Artefacts of the Glasgow built flagship of the Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company were retrieved from the wreck. They consist the bell and its wrought-iron hanger, a porthole and a washbasin which were handed over to the county museum.
As Afloat previously reported, S.S. Dundalk during WWI was attacked on 14th October, 1918 by a German submarine during a return trip from Liverpool’s Collinwood Dock to Dundalk. The cargo ship's main trade was cattle, produce and also the carriage of passengers.
The torpedo attack led to the sinking of the 234ft long merchant ship and claimed 21 people. Only 12 survived, some of which were brought to Douglas from the incident that took place just weeks before the end of World War 1 and of the crew, they mostly were local to the Dundalk area.
On the 100th anniversary of the sinking, a committee of descendants of the crew, travelled to the Isle of Man to unveil a memorial clock on the Castletown River waterfront. The clock is in memory to those who tragically lost their lives.
For more,Energy FM reports more on the return of the ship's bell.
Also in the centenary year, Afloat reported of a ceremony held on board the Isle of Man Steam Packet's Mannanan which saw the fast ferry take a special detour to the wreck site some 60 miles offshore.
On the 92nd anniversary, the Dundalk Sub Aqua Club divers carried out a commemorative dive to the wreck site. The divers laid a plaque of remembrance which Dundalk town council had sponsored.
