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Displaying items by tag: Fr Clem McManus

On the 14th of October 1918, 20 people from Dundalk lost their lives aboard SS Dundalk when it sunk 60 miles south of the Isle of Man writes Timmy Carey. Earlier this year to mark the 92nd anniversary of the loss a number of Dundalk Sub Aqua Club divers carried out a commemorative dive to the wreck and laid a plaque of remembrance sponsored by Dundalk town council.
The team also placed an air tight capsule containing objects from the relatives of the survivors and those lost on the tragic ship.

Some artifacts were removed from the wreck and brought home to Dundalk and the team donated them to the local museum where they made a presentation of the expedition and showed some underwater footage of the wreck in its current state. The presentation was held on 14th October to mark the 92nd anniversary of the sinking and the team were joined by some relatives and members of the public for an emotional night with prayers and music provided by Fr Clem McManus a local Redemptorist Priest.

Read or hear the story of the SS Dundalk on their website HERE

Photos below courtesy of Paddy Agnew, Dundalk Sub Aqua Club

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Local townsfolk who were lost on The SS Dundalk

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Members of Dundalk Sub-Aqua dive team before making their descent to the wreck of the SS Dundalk

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Relatives of those on the SS Dundalk Paul Sloane, Des Casey, Kevin O'Neill John Sloane and Maura Mulholland with the plaque before it was placed on the
SS Dundalk in memory of those lost in the tragedy in 1918.

 

Published in Diving

About Commander Bill King, Solo Circumnavigator

William Donald Aelian King was the last surviving submarine commander in the Second World War - in charge of the British Navy's T-class Telemachus that sank a Japanese sub in the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Sumatra, in 1944.

Decorated many times for his service by the end of the war, King became a trailblazing solo sailor.

At the age of 58, he was the oldest participant in The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race sailing Galway Blazer II, a junk-rigged schooner he designed himself.

After a number of abortive attempts, including an incident with "a large sea creature", he finally completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1973.

Beyond his aquatic escapades, King settled with his wife Anita (who died in 1984, aged 70) at Oranmore Castle outside Galway after the war, where he later developed a pioneering organic farm and garden to help tackle his wife's asthma.

The round-the-world sailor and Galway native Bill King died on Friday, 21 September, 2012, aged 102.