HMS ''Erin's Isle'' was a United Kingdom passenger

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

built by A&J Inglis for the

Belfast and County Down Railway The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland (later Northern Ireland) linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but th ...

(B&CDR). She was launched in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1912 as PS ''Erin's Isle'', and sailed regular services on

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

until 1915. She was then was requisitioned for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and became the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

HMS ''Erin's Isle''. On 7 February 1919 she was sunk by a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

off Nore. with the loss of 23 lives.

With the B&CDR

The B&CDR had owned and run steamships since 1893, mainly between

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and Bangor but also to other destinations in County Down and

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. At the end of the 1911 summer season the railway planned to sell , which dated from 1894, and replace her with a new, larger and more modern ship. The company ordered ''Erin's Isle'' from A&J Inglis of Pointhouse, Glasgow, who launched her on 12 June 1912 and fitted her out in less than a month. The B&CDR named her after "

Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go h ...

", the

Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin '' Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland ...

version of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Éirinn'', meaning Ireland. ''Erin's Isle'' entered B&CDR service on 12 July 1912. She worked seasonally from mid-May to the end of September each year, making regular scheduled runs between Belfast and Bangor and between Bangor and

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

, plus excursions from Bangor to other destinations. She ended her fourth summer season on 29 September 1915.

With the Royal Navy

The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

inspected ''Erin's Isle'' on 8 October 1915, and then requisitioned her on 20 November for £400 per month. Six days later she sailed from Belfast to become the

auxiliary

HMS ''Erin's Isle''. ''Erin's Isle'' remained in Royal Navy service after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

. On 6 February 1919 she sailed from Sheerness on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derive ...

and anchored for the night in the North Edinburgh Channel off the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

, not far from the Nore sandbank. At 0600 hrs on 7 November she was still at anchor and her crew were called to rise. About five minutes later a drifting

struck the forward part of her starboard side beneath the seamen's quarters, blowing her practically in two. She sank in about two minutes with the loss of 23 lives. 28 survivors were rescued, of whom only about three were seamen from the quarters where the mine had struck. The Admiralty paid £53,676 compensation to the B&CDR for the loss of the ship but the railway found that a new ship would cost £64,000. Given the changed economic circumstances after the First World War the company decided not to replace her.

Wreck and war grave

The wreck of ''Erin's Isle'' lies in the North Edinburgh Channel off the

. In 2001 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) began a rolling programme of assessment of wrecks for possible protection as

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

s under the

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

. In August 2004 the Port of London Authority was advised that the MoD had not designated wreck as a

protected place Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

under the Act, but could decide to do so in future.

References

Sources

* (Letter from

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

Hanlan to Mrs Eileen Fowlow of Trinity East, Newfoundland, widow of Seaman John Fowlow, RNCVR.) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erin's Isle, HMS 1912 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Maritime incidents in 1919 Minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by mines Steamships of the United Kingdom World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea