Drogheda Steam Packet Company

Drogheda Steam Packet Company
Industry Shipping
Fate Taken over
Successor Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Founded July 1825
Defunct 1902
Headquarters Drogheda
Area served
 Drogheda, Liverpool

The Drogheda Steam Packet Company was founded in 1826 as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co. It provided shipping services between Drogheda and Liverpool from 1825 to 1902, in which year it was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[1]

History

The company was founded in July 1825 with the issue of 300 shares at £50 each. It was founded as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co.[2]

The board of directors included Robert Pentland, mayor of Drogheda, John Leslie Foster, the MP for County Louth, Blayney T. Balfour,[3] St. George Smith, James McCann, Patrick Ternan, Nathaniel Hill, Patrick Boylan, John Woolsey and William Rodger.[4]

On 13 November 1826, PS Town of Drogheda arrived from Scotland. She made her maiden voyage to Liverpool on 26 November in 14 hours. Until 1829 a weekly service was operated sailing from Drogheda on Fridays and returning on Tuesdays under its master, Captain M. Ownes. She was employed until 1846, when she was sold.

In 1829, the company temporarily chartered the PS Liffey and PS Mersey from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company to increase the sailings to three per week. These were sent back when the new ship, PS Fair Trader was delivered at the end of the year.

Further expansion in the 1830s saw the arrival of PS Green Isle the PS Irishman and PS Grainne Ueile.

PS Faugh-a-Ballagh was acquired in 1844, the first iron hulled vessel. This was followed by PS Brian Boroimhe and PS St. Patrick in 1846.

Closure

In 1902 the assets of the company were taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for the sum of £80,000[5] (£7,577,985 as of 2015),[6]

Vessels

The company steamers had black funnels, the flag was green with a white five-pointed star between the horns.

Ship Launched Tonnage
(GRT)		 Notes
Black Eagle 1851 Built in South Shields. Acquired in 1858. Disposed of in 1896.[1]
Brian Boroimhe 1846.[7] 649[7] Built by Robert Napier, Port Glasgow.[8] Scrapped in 1880.[7]
Colleen Bawn 1862 609[9] or 679[2] Built by Randolph, Elder & Co Ltd, Govan in 1862.[9] Scrapped at Preston, Lancashire in 1901.[2][8]
Fair Trader 1829[8] 200[10] Built by John Scott & Sons Ltd, Greenock.[10] Bought new in 1829.[8]
Faugh-a-Ballagh 1844.[8] Sold in 1879.[8]
Grainne Ueile 1835[11] 245[11] Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock.[11] Caught fire on 14 April 1847 north of Lambay Island. A total of 22 people killed, 68 rescued by fishing smack Bessy of Ringsend.[8]
Green Isle 1833 213[12] Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock. Sold in 1845, scrapped in 1853.[12]
Irishman 1834 Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock.[13]
Iverna 1895 995 Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1912 by Messrs T.W. Ward.
Kathleen Mavourneen 1885 988 Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1903 in the Netherlands.
Leinster Lass 1849[2] Built by Robert Napier, Port Glasgow.[8]
Liffey Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829.[8]
Lord Athlumney 1871[2] 803[14] Built by A. & J. Inglis, Port Glasgow.[14] Wrecked in 1888.[8]
Mersey Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829.[8]
Norah Creina 1878 894 Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in April 1912 in France.
St Patrick 1846[8] Used as a French troopship during the Crimean War.[8]
Town of Drogheda 1826[8] 185 (as built)[15] Built by William Simons & Co Ltd, Greenock. Rebuilt in 1835. Lengthened and increased in tonnage to 234 GRT.[15] Sold in 1848,[8] converted to sail. Foundered some 100 nautical miles (190 km) east of Gibraltar in 1849.[15]
Tredagh 1876 901 Entered service June 1876.[8] Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1904.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Duckworth, Christian; Langmuir, Graham (1968). Railway and Other Steamers. Prescot: T Stephenson & Sons Ltd. p. not cited.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Garry, Jim. "Drogheda to Liverpool service". Irish Ships. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Balfour served as Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas from 1833-5.
  4. ↑ Drogheda Journal, 30 July 1825
  5. ↑ New Zealand Tablet, 9 January 1902.
  6. ↑ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2014), "What Were the British Earnings and Prices Then? (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Launched 1845: ps BRIAN BOIROIMHE". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 Holohan, Michael. "The Steamships of Drogheda". Drogheda Port. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Launched 1862: ps COLLEEN BAWN". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "FAIR TRADER(1829)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "GRANA UILE(1835)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Launched 1833: ps GREEN ISLE". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "IRISHMAN(1834)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Launched 1871: ps LORD ATHLUMNEY". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "TOWN OF DROGHEDA (1826)". Clydesite. Retrieved 2 January 2011.