Shifting Sands Reveal Three 19th Century Shipwrecks Off Dublin Coast

Three shipwrecks were discovered off the Dublin coast after a photographer named Nigel Motyer employed a drone to take aerial photographs of a 19th-century fishing trawler wreck on Portmarnock Strand.

In an investigation, the National Monuments Service (NMS) also found three old and undocumented wrecks, which are now being identified and estimated to be from the 19th century.

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, called the discovery an exciting development, as each wreck has a story and has shaped history.

He also underlined the importance of the National Monuments Service in recording, protecting and preserving the underwater heritage as seen by the 18000 sites in the Wreck Inventory of Ireland Database.

The National Monuments Service team surveyed and photographed the wrecks, analysing their material, size, and style of construction to identify them.

The Wreck Inventory records about 50 wrecks for the Portmarnock/Baldoyle region, identified through years of research by the NMS.

These include 14th-century trading ships to 20th-century coal boats and the physical remains of 13 ships.

Senior Archaeologist Karl Brady, who inspected the wrecks, said that extended periods of exposure to wind move the sands of the beach. In this case, it stripped the southern part of the beach of sand, exposing these wrecks.

The newly found wrecks are not properly preserved because of continuous tidal and storm action. Though only the lower parts of the hull and bow areas have survived, researchers also identified planking, metal knees, and a metal winch at the bow of one of the ships.

NMS has also mentioned that the majority of ships near Portmarnock Strand went missing because of bad or rough weather conditions.

Mr Brady said that many ships on their way to Dublin might have tried to take refuge in Howth Harbour during rough weather but failed to reach the harbour entry and ran ashore on the strand to save lives onboard the vessel.

Other vessels from ports located on Britain’s west coast, headed to various destinations, were victims of stormy weather, driven ashore at Portmarnock at night, where there are many shipwrecks.

References: Newstalk, Irish Mirror