Irish Ships and Shipping
Drogheda to Liverpool service
BY JIM GARRY
The northside of the River Boyne, from St Mary's Bridge to
the Boyne Viaduct, has the North
Quay, the Mall, Merchant's Quay, Steam packet Quay,
Ballast Quay and Deep Water-Berth, ending just under the Viaduct.
The last three mentioned quays are now owned by a busy
shipping company and are not open to the public.
There was a time when Steam packet Quay was one of the
earliest cross channel packet services to be operated out of Ireland, when the
Drogheda Steam packet Company, maintained a service, both passenger and
livestock, between Drogheda and Liverpool for 76 years.
The company started as early as 1826 when it acquired the
old Gas Works, when the latter moved across 'the river to the Marsh Road, and
was known as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co, and during its long years was
always to the fore at introducing new developments to their vessels and was the
first shipping
firm to have installed electric light, steam steering gear
and compound engines.
Listed here are some of the ships and their year of
introduction: 'Town of Drogheda* 1826; 'Fair Trader' 1829; 'Green Isle' 1833;
'Irishman' 1834; 'Granua Uile' 1835; 'Faugh a Ballagh' 1844 (First Iron Paddle
Steamer), 'Brian Boroimhe' 1846; •St Patrick' 1846, and 'Leinster Lass' 1849.
'Colleen Bawn' 1862, was one of the best which operated on
the sea and served her owners for over 40 years. She was 697 tons gross, and had
an overall length of 220 feet. She was fitted with 400 hp engines and was under
the command of Captain Branigan.
Other captains at that time included Edward Toker, Philip
Heaney, James Fay and Peter Owens.
Later additions to the fleet included 'Lord Athlmnney'
1871, 'Tredagh' 1876; 'North Creina' 1878.
'Tredagh' stayed with the company until it was liquidated
in 1902, and was broken up several years later, whilst 'Norah Creina'was broken
up in 1912.
'Kathleen Mavoureen' the largest steamer to be built for
the company, arrived at her homeport on September 12, 1885. As she came up the
river her general appearance was commented on by a large crowd of people who
thronged the quay and all the shipping in the river displayed a profusion of
bunting from mast to head to taffrail.
She was 260 feet long with a 30 ft beam, a dept of 15.5 ft
and a gross tonnage of 988. Shortly
after the company closed she was sold to continental
owners.
'Iverna' the last vessel to join the fleet in 1895, was a
steel vessel of just 100 tonnes.
She was one of the very few cross-channel steamers to be
built with a diagonal triple-expansion engine. She was also the last paddle
steamer to enter the Drogheda-Liverpool route.
Like all the Drogheda steamers, she could carry about 500
cattle in well ventilated cattle decks, but
the feature that interested the newspaper the most was the
fact she had a 'steam radiator' in the ladies cabin.
In 1901, the 'Colleen Bawn', after many years of splendid
service was withdrawn and broken up in Preston.
She was the best remembered of all the company's ships.
The following year the Drogheda Steampacket Co was bought out by the Lancashire
and Yorkshire Railway Company, and this was taken over by the British and Irish
Steampacket Company (B&I), which used the quay until its closure in the early
1960s.
©JIM GARRY / DROGHEDA INDEPENDENT
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