The ''Fulmar'' was a cargo vessel that sank in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

off

Kilkee Kilkee () is a coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the parish of Kilkee ''(formerly Kilfearagh)''. Kilkee is midway between Kilrush and Doonbeg on the N67 road and is a popular seaside resort. The horseshoe bay is pro ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, on the night of 30 January 1886. At the time of the disaster the ship was transporting coal from

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

in Ayrshire,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

city in Ireland. Occurring 50 years to the day of the sinking of the ''Intrinsic'', the ship is one of four that have perished with loss of life off the coast of the small town of Kilkee, the others being the '' Edmond'', and the ''

Inishtrahull Inishtrahull (, possibly "island of the empty beach" or "island of the yonder beach") is the most northerly island of Ireland. It has an area of and lies about northeast of Malin Head, County Donegal, and just over southwest of the island ...

''.

Background

Originally built for Francis Atkinson in 1868, ''Fulmar'' was bought in 1877 by Middlesbrough businessman James Dixon. The sinking was not the first time it had been en-toiled in trouble, with the ship running aground near the French town of

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

in 1883. After this the ship required extensive repairs, with the bill eventually coming to around £6,000 (£300,000 today). The ship was then laid up in the

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in London for two years, being used only for a few coastal voyages in the intervening period. The port side of the ship suffered damage when lying in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

harbour in 1885 and on its return to

in Scotland, began to leak. When the vessel arrived in Troon harbour it was given temporary repairs and a decision was made that it would continue on to

, as it had been chartered, and when it returned it would be sent to

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for a full overhaul and repair.

Last voyage and sinking

''Fulmar'' left Troon on the afternoon of 28 January 1886 with a crew of 17 aboard. On the ship at the time was 809

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s 11 cwt. of coal bound for Limerick and 55 tons 5 cwt. in the vessel's bunkers. According to the wreck report compiled after the disaster the ship was listing considerably on the starboard side due to it having 10 to 12 tons more coal than the port bunker. In ordinary circumstances the ship should have completed its journey in approximately 50 hours, making her estimated arrival in Limerick on 30 January at 18.30pm. During the night of the 30th and the early morning of the 31st, gale force winds of between 9 and 10 were reported along the west coast of Ireland and it is believed that ''Fulmar'' foundered in these, not helped by the fact that it was already listing. What had happened only came to knowledge on 31 January when a quantity of wreckage identified as belonging to the ''Fulmar'' was picked up near Kilkee, a town located about 22 km from the entrance to the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

, the ship's intended route. On 4 February, the body of a person, believed to have been Captain Webb, washed ashore. This was the only victim of the 17 aboard to be recovered. It is believed the ship foundered in an approximate position of .

References

{{1886 shipwrecks Shipwrecks of Ireland Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in Ireland Maritime incidents in January 1886 Kilkee 1868 ships Ships built on the River Tees

Background

Last voyage and sinking

See also

References