Drogheda Steam Packet Company
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Fate | Taken over |
| Successor | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
| Founded | July 1825 |
| Defunct | 1902 |
| Headquarters | Drogheda |
Area served | Drogheda, Liverpool |
The Drogheda Steam Packet Company was founded in 1826 as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co. It provided shipping services between Drogheda and Liverpool from 1825 to 1902, in which year it was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[1]
History
The company was founded in July 1825 with the issue of 300 shares at £50 each. It was founded as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co.[2]
The board of directors included Robert Pentland, mayor of Drogheda, John Leslie Foster, the MP for County Louth, Blayney T. Balfour,[3] St. George Smith, James McCann, Patrick Ternan, Nathaniel Hill, Patrick Boylan, John Woolsey and William Rodger.[4]
On 13 November 1826, PS Town of Drogheda arrived from Scotland. She made her maiden voyage to Liverpool on 26 November in 14 hours. Until 1829 a weekly service was operated sailing from Drogheda on Fridays and returning on Tuesdays under its master, Captain M. Ownes. She was employed until 1846, when she was sold.
In 1829, the company temporarily chartered the PS Liffey and PS Mersey from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company to increase the sailings to three per week. These were sent back when the new ship, PS Fair Trader was delivered at the end of the year.
Further expansion in the 1830s saw the arrival of PS Green Isle the PS Irishman and PS Grainne Ueile.
PS Faugh-a-Ballagh was acquired in 1844, the first iron hulled vessel. This was followed by PS Brian Boroimhe and PS St. Patrick in 1846.
Closure
In 1902 the assets of the company were taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for the sum of £80,000[5] (equivalent to £7,832,684 in 2015),[6]
Vessels
The company steamers had black funnels, the flag was green with a white five-pointed star between the horns.
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Eagle | 1851 | Built in South Shields. Acquired in 1858. Disposed of in 1896.[1] | |
| Brian Boroimhe | 1846.[7] | 649[7] | Built by Robert Napier, Port Glasgow.[8] Scrapped in 1880.[7] |
| Colleen Bawn | 1862 | 609[9] or 679[2] | Built by Randolph, Elder & Co Ltd, Govan in 1862.[9] Scrapped at Preston, Lancashire in 1901.[2][8] |
| Fair Trader | 1829[8] | 200[10] | Built by John Scott & Sons Ltd, Greenock.[10] Bought new in 1829.[8] |
| Faugh-a-Ballagh | 1844.[8] | Sold in 1879.[8] | |
| Grainne Ueile | 1835[11] | 245[11] | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock.[11] Caught fire on 14 April 1847 north of Lambay Island. A total of 22 people killed, 68 rescued by fishing smack Bessy of Ringsend.[8] |
| Green Isle | 1833 | 213[12] | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock. Sold in 1845, scrapped in 1853.[12] |
| Irishman | 1834 | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock.[13] | |
| Iverna | 1895 | 995 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1912 by Messrs Thos W Ward. |
| Kathleen Mavourneen | 1885 | 988 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1903 in the Netherlands. |
| Leinster Lass | 1849[2] | Built by Robert Napier, Port Glasgow.[8] | |
| Liffey | Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829.[8] | ||
| Lord Athlumney | 1871[2] | 803[14] | Built by A. & J. Inglis, Port Glasgow.[14] Wrecked in 1888.[8] |
| Mersey | Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829.[8] | ||
| Norah Creina | 1878 | 894 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in April 1912 in France. |
| St Patrick | 1846[8] | Used as a French troopship during the Crimean War.[8] | |
| Town of Drogheda | 1826[8] | 185 (as built)[15] | Built by William Simons & Co Ltd, Greenock. Rebuilt in 1835. Lengthened and increased in tonnage to 234 GRT.[15] Sold in 1848,[8] converted to sail. Foundered some 100 nautical miles (190 km) east of Gibraltar in 1849.[15] |
| Tredagh | 1876 | 901 | Entered service June 1876.[8] Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1904. |
References
- 1 2 Duckworth, Christian; Langmuir, Graham (1968). Railway and Other Steamers. Prescot: T Stephenson & Sons Ltd. p. not cited.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Garry, Jim. "Drogheda to Liverpool service". Irish Ships. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ↑ Balfour served as Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas from 1833-5.
- ↑ Drogheda Journal, 30 July 1825
- ↑ New Zealand Tablet, 9 January 1902.
- ↑ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
- 1 2 3 "Launched 1845: ps BRIAN BOIROIMHE". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Holohan, Michael. "The Steamships of Drogheda". Drogheda Port. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- 1 2 "Launched 1862: ps COLLEEN BAWN". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- 1 2 "FAIR TRADER(1829)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- 1 2 3 "GRANA UILE(1835)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- 1 2 "Launched 1833: ps GREEN ISLE". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ↑ "IRISHMAN(1834)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- 1 2 "Launched 1871: ps LORD ATHLUMNEY". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- 1 2 3 "TOWN OF DROGHEDA (1826)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.