Nellie Fleming: The Cork schooner lost without a trace 

Almost 90 years ago – in February of 1936 – a schooner from Youghal was lost without trace with five local sailors on board.

The beginning of this story tells that Flemings Merchants had lost their first Nellie Fleming vessel when it went aground at Ardmore in 1913. Thankfully all the crew were saved from that shipwreck.

In 1916, Flemings purchased a replacement named Emily that had been built at Carrigfergus in 1884. It was a wooden three-masted double topsail schooner.

The moniker of this newly purchased vessel was changed to be named after one of Martin Fleming’s daughters Nellie Fleming.

From 1917 to 1936, it was kept busy in Flemings’ ownership.

The Youghal Harbour record books show that the Nellie Fleming plied mainly to Cardiff, Newport and Lydney, with an odd trip to Garston and Sharpness. Cargoes were listed as coal and salt.

On the matter of cargoes, 1922 brings to mind a very sad happening on the local quays.

A vessel named ‘Isabella’ – under Captain Jones – arrived with cargo in the dark of a September evening in 1922. The Irish Civil War was in full swing and there was a curfew in place – unknown to the captain and crew. The captain’s teenage son Samuel – aged 16 – and another crew member innocently went ashore during curfew and were challenged by Free State soldiers while up town. The two young men ran away – not knowing what this was about – and were shot dead. Captain Jones’ son is buried in the grounds of St. Mary’s Collegiate Church.

Nellie Fleming was skippered in the early years by Captain Joe Aherne and from 1933 to 1936 Captain Mike began to skipper some of the voyages.

We move now to the record books of Youghal Bridge – where we see that the Nellie went upriver as far as Cappoquin and onto the River Bride as well.

Before its last fateful voyage, the Nellie Fleming needed a cabin boy to double as a cook and two young lads applied for the job.

Eddie Sullivan of Cork Hill and Eddie Norris of Windmill Lane were both hopeful of starting a sea-faring career.

Eddie Sullivan got the job and sailed away to Wales with four other crewmen – while the other Eddie stayed at home disappointed.

Local people living at Cork Hill can seeing Eddie Sullivan walking down to the quayside with a pillow-case (sea-bag) of clothes thrown over his shoulder.

When the Nellie Fleming sailed down Youghal Harbour, ed beyond the lighthouse and out into the bay, nobody suspected that it was to be for the last time.

On the return journey, the Nellie left Lydney laden with coal on a calm morning. However, as they sailed away down the Bristol Channel the weather changed. A storm was brewing!

A sister vessel, Kathleen and May, was also heading for Youghal at the same time – in the same area.

Unlike the Nellie, which was sail only, the Kathleen and May also had an auxiliary engine.

The Kathleen decided to drop the sails and motor for refuge in the port of Angle in Milford Haven and made safety.

The helpless Nellie, however, was running before wind and tide.

The wind that night was fearful as it built up to record an average of seventy-five miles per hour for the whole of the next three days. It became the worst storm in living memory on the Irish Sea.

Meanwhile, back in Youghal, as they experienced the storm, people feared the worst for their two vessels.

Down on the quays and out at the Head of the Rock (Moll Goggin’s Corner) crowds kept vigil, saying the Rosary for the safe return of their loved ones.

The Eastern Point is the part of Monatrea that lies across the harbour from the lighthouse and it was only when the schooners would come around that point that they knew they were home and safe.

The high hills on both sides of the river provided great shelter and any favourable puff of wind would see them sail up into port.

The Head of the Rock is beyond the lighthouse and is the most prominent position from which to watch the horizon for the first glimpse of a mast.

It is the place where the families waited and watched.

Imagine those years before radio, when a ship’s whereabouts was only known to the crew, and nobody ashore could tell if they were blown off course.

Local sailors were hoping that the two vessels had remained in Lydney to weather the storm in port or at anchor.

That was the best possibility.

The vigil went on – day and night – but time was ing by without a sighting.

Nine days later, the Kathleen and May rounded the Eastern Point to be greeted by a big cheer that could be heard over in County Waterford.

It brought relief for some and hope for others.

“Any sign of the Nellie,” the people on shore asked. “No sign” was the dreaded reply. When the Kathleen tied up at the quay, the whole story was told.

Both schooners had left before the storm started and had been driven before it down the Bristol Channel.

As already stated, the Kathleen had an auxiliary engine, while the Nellie did not. It made all the difference when the storm struck.

The ill-fated Nellie could only run before the storm and hope for the best.

It was no contest.

The captain and crew were very capable, but in that awful situation with an old vessel laden with coal, it was not enough.

The vigil at home continued. More days ed and there was still no sign.

An awful realisation began to show on the population of a closely knit fishing and sailing community.

Five local men with numerous family connections were gone. No trace was ever found.

The five crewmen were: Captain: Mike Duggan, of Church Lane – married - aged 60; Mate: Batty Glavin of Cork Hill – married – aged 58; Able Seaman: Dan Kenneally of Strand Street – married – aged 54; Able Seaman: Declan Doyle of Pender’s Lane – single –aged 21 on his first voyage; and Cabin Boy: Eddie Sullivan of Raheen Lane, Cork Hill – single – aged 18 – also on his first voyage.

The Nellie Fleming was no match for the storm.

Five lives taken together shocked the town so much that, even now, our elders can still feel the indescribable sadness.

What is not generally known is that Flemings supplied groceries to the families of the lost sailors for seven years afterwards – until the widows could claim the state pension (of the 1935 Act).

As no bodies were found, the seven years deferment clause applied. Meanwhile a fund was set up to assist the families.

Incidentally, it was during that same storm (February 1936) that the Ballycotton lifeboat ‘Mary Stanford’ was at sea for three days as it rescued the crew of the Daunt Lightship.

Mike Hackett is the author of Lost Without Trace: The Nellie Fleming Schooner Story.