The Nimrod
The Nimrod was built for the Cork-Liverpool route in the mid-1800s. It was driven ashore off the North Wales coast in 1860, killing all aboard.
© Cork City Libraries.The Nimrod
© Cork City Libraries.
© Cork City Libraries.
The Nimrod
The Nimrod was built for the Cork-Liverpool route in the mid-1800s. It was driven ashore off the North Wales coast in 1860, killing all aboard.
© Cork City Libraries.The Nimrod
In the nineteenth century, the Nimrod sailed the Cork-Liverpool line with cargo and passengers. It sailed this route for seventeen years until 1860. In February of that year, it steamed out of Liverpool but was forced to anchor off the North Wales coast due to bad weather.
When the storm cleared, it set sail but soon ran into difficulties again. Ferocious winds drove the Nimrod onto rocks and the ship quickly broke into three sections. All forty-five people aboard the ship, passengers and crew, drowned.
The Constellation
Image of the Constellation from the Illustrated London News. The Constellation carried relief supplies from New York to Cork in 1880. The supplies were distributed to the needy in post-Famine Ireland.
© Cork City Libraries.The Constellation
© Cork City Libraries.
© Cork City Libraries.
The Constellation
Image of the Constellation from the Illustrated London News. The Constellation carried relief supplies from New York to Cork in 1880. The supplies were distributed to the needy in post-Famine Ireland.
© Cork City Libraries.The Constellation
For many years after the Great Famine (1845-1849) ended, food was in scarce supply for much of the Irish population.
In 1880, some citizens of New York bought 500 tonnes of food and clothing to help Irish people in need. The Constellation set sail from New York in March 1880 and arrived in Cork Harbour twenty days later. Its cargo included 1,344 barrels of potatoes, 675 barrels of flour, 1,144 barrels of cornmeal and 59 cases of canned meat.
The Constellation is the only ship from the American Civil War (1861-1865) era that is still afloat. In 1954, it was moved to Baltimore for restoration and preservation as a historic shrine. It is now open to the public as a museum in Baltimore Inner Harbor. Click here to learn more about the USS Constellation Museum.
The Sirius
The Sirius became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, powered entirely by steam.
© Cork City Libraries.The Sirius
© Cork City Libraries.
© Cork City Libraries.
The Sirius
The Sirius became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, powered entirely by steam.
© Cork City Libraries.The Sirius
The Sirius first came to Cork in 1837. It was a big and powerful ship by the standards of its time and normally undertook the voyage from Cork to London. In early 1838, it was chartered by the British & American Steam Navigation Co. to voyage across the Atlantic to New York. The Sirius was to leave London on 28 March, stop at Cork and sail from Cork to America.
For its historic trip, the Sirius had a total of forty passengers on board and thirty-eight crew members. It was commanded by Captain Richard Roberts of Ardmore, Passage West. The ship anchored at Passage West and took fuel and supplies on board. It set off across the Atlantic on 4 April, two days later than intended.
Captain Roberts' log records the scene as the ship left Passage West:
'On leaving Passage, about 7 miles below Cork, we were loudly cheered by the inhabitants, together with the most respectable families in Cork, who had assembled with warm hearts and handsome faces (the ladies, I mean) to witness our departure and wish us success on our passage to our transAtlantic brethren. Most of the gentlemen interested in our vessel proceeded with us as far as the Cove (Cobh) of Cork, where we stopped to let Ocean come alongside to take the above gentlemen out, which having been done, with three hearty cheers and many heartier wishes, we gallantly bent our way for New York.'
The Sirius arrived in New York on 22 April 1838 to great celebrations, having steamed 2,897 nautical miles at an average of 161 nautical miles per day.
The Sirius met a sad end when it was shipwrecked in Ballycotton Bay in 1847. However, despite its brief existence, it achieved distinction as the first steamship ever to cross the Atlantic.