Asgard (yacht)
The Asgard is a 51-foot (16 m) yacht, formerly owned by the English-born Irish nationalist, and writer Robert Erskine Childers (DSC) and his wife Molly Childers.[1][2] It was bought for £1,000 in 1904 (£84,000 in 2006) from one of Norway's most famous boat designers, Colin Archer.[3] The interior was custom built to the specifications of Childers and his wife.
Molly, an invalid from early age, sometimes took the helm of Asgard, strapped onto the deck with harnesses so she could navigate the rough waters of the Irish Sea.[4] Its most famous trip was the Howth gun-running in 1914. Childers, his wife and a small crew, made the channel crossing with a hold full of rifles from Germany into Howth harbour just north of Dublin, to arm the Irish Volunteers in response to the arming of the Ulster Volunteers by the Larne gun-running in April.[2] There is a plaque on dock wall in Howth as a memorial to this historic boat journey.[5] Shortly after the Easter Rising, the Asgard was put into long-term dry-dock in Northern Wales, where it was sold in 1928.[1]
In 1961, the Irish Government procured the ageing vessel and returned it to Howth on 30 July 1961 in a re-enactment of the 1914 landing, using some of the original rifles and surviving members of the Irish Volunteers.[1][6] It was used for sail training until 1974, when it was dry-docked and installed inside Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin where it remained as a museum attraction, until 2001.[7]
As of December 2007, the Asgard Restoration Project was under way in Collins Barracks, Dublin.[8] The focus of the restoration was on preserving the original wooden hull and its metal supports, before replacing pieces with new material.[8][9] Once completed, the Asgard will be fully rigged for the first time in over forty years. The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin is creating a permanent "boathouse" for the yacht.[10]
The Asgard is often confused with the "Dulcibella"; the boat in Robert Erskine Childers's classic novel The Riddle of the Sands.[11] The "Dulcibella" was a totally different vessel.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b c Robert Erskine Childers, Private Papers (Trinity College Library, Dublin)
- ^ a b Ring (1996), pps. 95-99.
- ^ Colin Archer Gjenværende Skøyter
- ^ Boyle (1977), pps. 185-196.
- ^ Asgard Memorial, Howth, County Dublin
- ^ Correspondent (31 July 1961). "Irish reenact gun running expoit. Yacht carrying 1914 rifles sails in.". The Times: p. 12.
- ^ Asgard takes to the air on way back to sea
- ^ a b "Restoring Ireland's Most Historic Vessel". Seascapes News Summary - 10th December 2007. RTÉ. 2007-12-10. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/1175724.html. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- ^ Restoring Ireland's Most Historic Boat
- ^ http://www.museum.ie/en/list/asgard-studio.aspx
- ^ Boyle (1977), pps. 108-119.
- ^ Dulcibella and the Riddle of the Sands
- Sources
- Ring, Jim (1996). Erskine Childers: A Biography. London: John Murray. ISBN 0719556813.
- Boyle, Andrew (1977). The Riddle Of Erskine Childers. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0091284902.
