Boyd Memorial

The Boyd Memorial is located on the East Pier in Dún Laoghaire. The harbour/sea has shaped Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) and this memorial encapsulates this connection. Man cannot control the sea at all times, regardless of how much they may alter the landscape around it, for example by building dams or harbours.

A huge storm swept the Irish coast in 1861 and of the 135 vessels sunk during the storm, 13 of them sunk in Dún Laoghaire Harbour. Captain John McNeill Boyd was captain of the 'Ajax' a Royal Navy guardship at the time. He saw two boats crash against the rocks at the east pier and immediately headed to rescue them, together with his crew. They tried to rescue the crew from the 'Neptune' but to no avail.

Not only did the crew of the 'Neptune' perish (except for one person), Captain Boyd and his crew were also killed. The crew from the other ship 'Industry' were saved (except for their captain). The bodies of Captain Boyd's crew were washed ashore days later, whilst the body of Boyd himself was not discovered for weeks.

The crew of the 'Ajax' were buried in the graveyard at Carrickbrennan. A memorial to Captain Boyd was also erected here. The grave dug in the graveyard for Captain Boyd was not used because of the delay in recovering his body. Instead his remains were interred in the grounds of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The memorial erected on the East Pier is close to the spot where the tragedy occurred and it has not been moved over the years. In 1951 a reader complained in the 'Sunday Independent' that the memorial inscription was becoming difficult to read and since then the memorial has been repaired a number of times. This is due partly to its location making it vulnerable to weathering by the waves.


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