Disaster at sea

Often the physical landscape can hold secrets from its history. The Martello tower at Seapoint was the scene of a very serious shipping disaster in 1807. At that time the area around the tower had not yet been altered to accommodate the railway. There were many sharp rocks in the vicinity and they proved, on this occasion, treacherous to two ships, namely the Prince of Wales and the Rochdale.

Both ships were carrying volunteers from the Irish militia regiment (foreign service). The ships got caught in a violent snowstorm near Seapoint. The Prince of Wales was driven onto the rocks near Blackrock House and the crew abandoned the ship and the passengers and rowed to shore in the lifeboats.

Seapoint Martello Tower (today)

In 1807 a huge storm wrecked two ships off the coast at Seapoint, within a mile of each other. They were the 'Prince of Wales' and the 'Rochdale'. Both carried volunteers from the Irish militia regiment (foreign service) and all perished. The crew from the 'Prince of Wales' abandoned the passengers and reached the shore in their lifeboat.

Seapoint Martello Tower (today)

Seapoint Martello Tower (today)

In 1807 a huge storm wrecked two ships off the coast at Seapoint, within a mile of each other. They were the 'Prince of Wales' and the 'Rochdale'. Both carried volunteers from the Irish militia regiment (foreign service) and all perished. The crew from the 'Prince of Wales' abandoned the passengers and reached the shore in their lifeboat.

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The story was that the Captain wished only to save himself and his crew. To this end the ladder from the cabin to the deck was supposedly removed thereby sealing the fate of the unfortunate passengers. The captain and members of his crew were arrested on a murder charge however the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.

The other ship, the Rochdale was wrecked a half a mile from the other ship. No help could be sent to the distressed vessel and all the anchors dropped by the crew were snapped on the rocks. 265 people including the crew all perished and their bodies were found along the shore the next morning.

The desperate passengers/crew tried firing muskets to attract attention. They succeeded in getting peoples' attention on the mainland but they could only watch the disaster unfold in front of them.

The victims from this disaster were badly mutilated due to the severity of the storm. Their bodies were interred in Carrickbrennan cemetery while the bodies from the Prince of Wales were buried in Merrion.