The SS Connemara was a twin screw steamer, 272 feet long, 35 broad and 14 deep with a gross register tonnage of 1106. She sank on the night of 3 November 1916 at the entrance to Carlingford Lough, Louth, Ireland after being hit amidships by the coalship Retriever. 97 people died that night and the only survivor was James Boyle – a fireman on the Retriever and former caretaker of Warrenpoint Town Hall and a non-swimmer.
The captain on the Connemara was Captain G. H. Doeg. The captain on the Retriever was Patrick O'Neill. Both men were experienced seamen and the accident was attributed to the atrocious weather conditions on the night.
SS Connemara facts & figures
Ship Type: Twin screw steamer
Captain: GH Doeg
Second Mate: ? Tonnage: 1106 gross register tons Built By: Denny Brothers of Dunbarton in 1897 Owners: London and North-Western Railway Company Length: Beam: Draught: Crew: 30 (all from Holyhead in Wales) Cargo: 51 passengers (and livestock)
Retriever facts & figures
Ship Type: Steel screw, three mast steamer
Captain: Patrick O'Neill from Kilkeel
Second Mate: Joseph O'Neill (Captain's son) Tonnage: 483 gross register tons Built By: Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in 1899 Owners: Clanrye Shipping Company Length: Beam: Draught: Crew: 9 (all from Newry except the sole survivor James Boyle who was from Summerhill in Warrenpoint) Cargo: Coal
Previous accidents
Both the Connemara and the Retriever had been in separate collisions with other ships before the fatal accident: The Connemara sank the Liverpool vessel Marquis of Bute on 20 March 1910. Similarly the Retriever sank the Spanish ship the Lista at Garston dock, Liverpool, on 31 August 1912.
The accident itself
Accident Date & time: 3 November 1916
Conditions: Gale force winds from southwest against a strong ebb tide of some 8 knots. Mountainous seas & dark conditions. Retriever Origin: Left Garston at 4 a.m. on Friday Retriever Destination: Newry Connemara Origin: Left Greenore (her berth) at 8 p.m. Connemara Destination: Holyhead
The outbound Connemara met the inbound Retriever approximately a half-mile beyond the Carlingford bar. The bar in Carlingford is marked by Haulbowline lighthouse. Beyond the bar is the "cut" or channel, which in Carlingford's case is very narrow, being only about 300 yards wide. This lack of space allows for very little manoeuvrability for passing vessels. Both vessels were showing dimmed lights, for fear of U-boats. Their masters were on their respective bridges, and there was no evidence to indicate they were not alert.
The watch at the Haulbowline lighthouse, seeing the ships too close for comfort, fired off rockets in warning.
However, the atrocious conditions had caused the Retrievers cargo to list. She was fighting both wind, tide and cargo inertia. She hit the Connemara on the port side, penetrating her hull to the funnel. Immediately Master O' Neill reversed engines and the Retriever swung wide. The Connemara however was terribly ripped below the waterline on the port side, from bow to amidships. She sank within minutes, her boilers exploding on contact with the cold water.
The Retriever, with her bow stove in, took about 20 minutes to sink about 200 yards from the Connemara. Her boilers also exploded on contact with the water.
The sole survivor: James Boyle
From Summerhill in Warrenpoint
He was a fireman and was also the caretaker of Warrenpoint Town Hall
Was below deck of the Retriever at the time of the accident
A non-swimmer! (sic) He clung precariously to an upturned boat and avoiding being dashed against the rocks Found exhausted by William Hanna (the son of a farmer at Cranfield) and Tom Crutchley 21 at the time of the accident Lived for another 50 years in Warrenpoint Refused to discuss the tragedy until interviewed by television as an elderly man Died: 19 April 1967
The aftermath
97 fatalities
1 sole survivor
Shorelines littered with corpses, dead animals and flotsam and jetsam
58 bodies found the next morning
The other bodies washed up over the following weeks from Cranfield to Kilkeel
Many corpses were badly mutilated & burned (due to the boilers exploding) Unidentified were buried in a mass grave in Kilkeel The inquest was held on 6 November in Kilkeel Coroner and members of the Jury journeyed to the scene of the tragedy to view the wreckage and the bodies that had been collected James Boyle gave his evidence breaking down several times The verdict was death by drowning caused by the collision of the ships