Tom MacSweeney: The wreck of the Joseph Howe at Bere Island uncovered dark cruelty aboard

Having survived the destruction of his ship against the cliff face on Bere Island by clinging to a ledge with three crewmen in the midst of a furious storm, Captain William Templeton and his companions were rescued when their cries for help were heard by a young islander.

But one of the crew did not forget the captain’s cruelty during the voyage which ended in shipwreck.

On the night of February 17, 1876, the brigantine, ‘Joseph Howe’, was nearing the end of her voyage to Cork Port, carrying mahogany from Mexico. Storm clouds gathered as the sailing ship neared Bantry Bay and a ferocious gale ripped into the vessel, tearing sails and damaging her rudder. Tossed around, the crew hoped to find shelter in Berehaven Harbour, but their vessel was driven towards an inlet called ‘the bite in the side’ — the cliffs of Fall na dTadhg on the southern side of Bere Island. She was smashed into the rocks and broke up.

Bere Island Projects Group history tells the story that four of the crew were thrown by the waves onto a cliff ledge.

‘The men somehow managed to cling on until daybreak when their cries were heard by local man, Dennis Harrington, 21 years of age, who lived not far from the cliffs. With the help of a neighbour they got a rope to the four men and hauled them to safety. The men were brought into Castletownbere.’

One of those rescued was the ship’s steward, Peter Seymour, who told the Royal Irish Constabulary in the town that he had a complaint to make against captain Templeton.

He claimed that during the voyage the captain had ill-treated the galley boy, attacking and knocking the youngster unconscious. The galley boy died from his injuries and was buried at sea.

The RIC arrested the captain, who was tried in court, found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months jail with hard labour.

For a time there was a lot of mahogany from the ship’s cargo floating around Bere Island, islanders were compensated for salvage by insurers Lloyds.

Dennis Harrington received £15 and wrote a poem, The Wreck of the Joseph Howe, amongst which were the lines:

‘At break of day, I arose put on my clothes and to sea made my way. Coming towards the seashore cliffs I espied an awful scene. Dashing against the rocks below was a large brigantine. With the help of the lifeline we saved four lives that day. Who but for our exertions would have washed away. The Joseph Howe was to Cork bound. But at Faill na dTadhg her destiny she found.’

There is an immense amount of history on Bere Island, recorded by the Island Projects Group, one of a number of community groups in the Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN), which encourages communities to collect and share local history and heritage online.

In partnership with the Heritage Council, the National Museum and local authorities, 33 community archives have been created in Clare, Cork, Galway, Mayo and Wicklow.

Bere Island and our offshore islands generally lost a great advocate with the death of John Walsh at the age of 55.

He was Bere’s representative to Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann (the Islands’ Federation) and had been chairman of ESIN — the European Small Islands Networks. John’s determination opened doors in Brussels and created recognition of the challenges faced by small islands in Europe.

Storytelling on Cape Clear

While I’m referring to islands, the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival will celebrate its 30th year with a line-up of international storytellers, music and workshops from August 30 to September 1.

It was originally founded in 1994, by Chuck and Nell Kruger, to keep the tradition of storytelling alive.

More information at https://capeclearstorytelling.com

Ten Years at Union Hall

Union Hall RNLI has been celebrating its 10th year. It was established in 2014 following the ‘Tit Bonhomme’ trawler tragedy the previous year off Adam Island in Glandore Harbour.

A maritime talks series is being held, at which I’ll be discussing the challenges of being a marine correspondent on Tuesday night next, August 27, at 7.30pm.

Bantry claims submariner Holland

John Philip Holland, inventor of the modern submarine, tested the first prototype in the North Monastery pond.

As a young teaching Christian Brother, before leaving the order and emigrating to the USA in the 1870s, he and another Brother, Dominic Burke, tested a wooden prototype of the design in the Mon Ornamental Pond between 1858 and 1862, according to history.

Bantry has now claimed association with the submarine inventor, born in Clare — as his father was from the town. A public information board has been placed in the ‘Spirit of Love’ garden at the Abbey Cemetery.

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