Irish Wreck Confirmed as Whitby Boat

Archaeologist in Ireland have confirmed a wreck on a beach in Sligo is that of Whitby vessel The Greyhound

Ireland's National Monuments Service says it has confirmed a shipwreck, visible at low tide, on a beach in Sligo is that of a Whitby Vessel that ran aground in 1770.

In a Facebook post The Monuments Service say..

"Last Saturday morning 12 December, at low tide, a small group assembled in the rain on Streedagh Strand in County Sligo around the wooden remains of a well-known wreck which often becomes visible as the sands shift. The group was there to commemorate the loss of the boat for the very first time, the story having only recently been uncovered, a story of tragedy with the loss of 20 lives in December 1770, but also a story of great heroism, bravery and selflessness."

The vessel was positively identified after samples of wood from the wreck were taken for testing to identify the date and origin of the wood.

The Monuments Service said

"Dating sequences obtained from two samples place the construction of the vessel firmly in the first half of the 18th century, sometime after 1712. The analysis also indicated that the timber used in the construction was probably sourced from the English midlands or possibly Yorkshire."

Following the scientific analysis of the timber the service say further research was undertaken using archive records to identify wrecks that occurred in the 18th century, they say

"Research of historical accounts in the 18th century Freeman’s Journal help fill in the story of the vessel, which we can now confirm was the Greyhound.

The Irish Folklore Commission’s Schools Manuscripts Collection, archived in University College Dublin,  helps to fill in some gaps and in so doing highlight the importance of this archival source. An account given in 1937 by a Streedagh local, 75 year-old Michael MacGowan, to his granddaughter, tells of a ship, described as a “tourist boat”, driven ashore at Streedagh Point some 200 years previous. According to Mr MacGowan, all the crew bar one attempted to clamber to safety over the rocks at Streedagh Point but were drowned after falling into a deep recess between the rocks. Later that night the ship re-floated on the rising tide and was washed ashore on the beach at Streedagh, where it grounded in the soft sands and is the vessel still visible today known as the “Butter Boat”. When the tide receded the following day, the one man who remained on the boat, Mr Williams, made it to the safety of the shore and, according to Mr MacGowan’s account, he returned ‘home’ to England.

The 18th century dendro-date obtained from the analysis of the timber tree-rings, together with the provenance of the timbers to the north of England which would match with Whitby in Yorkshire where the Greyhound was built, and the historical accounts in journals and folklore archives all lead us to the firm conclusion that the well-known wreck, long known as the ‘Butter Boat’ is the remains of the Greyhound."

The Monuments service say the story of The Greyhound was a tragic one.

"The Greyhound was a coastal trading ship from Whitby in Yorkshire, owned by a Mrs Allely. It was built in 1747 and plied its trade around Britain and Ireland.

In December 1770, under the command of a Captain Douthard, the 23 year-old ship was forced to seek refuge from a winter storm in Broadhaven Bay, Co. Mayo. Unfavourable winds however prevented the Greyhound from entering the safety of the sheltered harbour and the Greyhound had to anchor beneath the towering cliffs off Erris Head.

Earlier that same year, another ship, the Rain, en route from New York to Galway, had found itself in a similar position and ended up dashed against the same cliffs with the loss of all on board. Captain Douthard and his crew were aware of what had happened to the Rain, and knew that they were in a perilous position beneath the cliffs, so they abandoned the Greyhound using the cockboat to make for the safety of the inner harbour. In what was to become a tragic oversight with immense consequences, a cabin boy was left behind on the Greyhound.

Captain Douthard and his crew made it to the safety of Broadhaven Bay. A Galway registered sloop called Mary, en route from Limerick to Newry under a Captain Daly, had also taken refuge in Broadhaven Bay a few days earlier. When he learned of the precarious situation of the Greyhound and its abandoned cabin boy, Captain Daly mounted a rescue attempt accompanied by a number of local volunteers and some crew of both the Mary and the Greyhound. The rescue team did manage to successfully board the Greyhound and were able to move the stricken vessel away from the cliffs but no sooner had they done so when the storm blew up again and the winds drove the Greyhound out to sea. The Greyhound and its newly formed crew were then pushed farther out into Donegal Bay, enduring violent winds and high seas. Later that night, records recount, they were forced ashore at a place called ‘Strudah’ [Streedagh]. The Freeman’s Journal provides little by way of further information on what occurred next apart from recording that 20 lives were lost. These included Captain Daly, his fellow crew members and the cabin boy, with just one man - a Mr Williams ‘from Erris’ - recorded as surviving the wrecking."

The Monuments Service say they felt the anniversary of the tragedy was the right time to revel their findings

"Saturday 12th December 2020 marked the 250th anniversary of the tragedy and the loss of those on board – it was only appropriate to commemorate the event and to remember all those lives lost so selflessly at Christmas 1770"