Greyhound (1747 ship)
The Greyhound was a coastal trading vessel based in Whitby that was wrecked in a storm off the coast of County Sligo on 12 December 1770.[1] The wreck has been known locally as The butter boat.[1]
Vessel
The Greyhound was owned by a Mrs Alley.[2] A captain Douthard was in command of the vessel.[3][4]
Wreck
The Greyhound had been caught in a storm off the coast of County Mayo.[1] They could not get shelter in Broadhaven Bay and were forced to anchor near Erris Head.[1] The crew abandoned ship, then realised they had forgotten the cabin boy.[1] Some of the crew, along with volunteers and crew of a passing ship Mary, from Galway, returned to rescue him and managed to get aboard the Greyhound.[1] The storm was so bad that the vessel was driven ashore at Streedagh point, where 20 of the 21 on board drowned.[1] The sole survivor had stayed on board and when the vessel settled on the beach he alerted people, but the others had already been lost.[1]
Speculation on identity
The identity of the vessel had been lost, leading to speculation that it might have been part of The Spanish Armada or a tourist boat.[1]
Identification
Oak timbers from the wreck were dated to some time after 1712 in the first half of the 18th century by dendrochronologist Dr. Aoife Daly.[1][5] The National Monuments Service said that the timber was probably sourced from the English midlands or Yorkshire.[5] This was cross-referenced to a database of over a hundred shipwrecks off the Sligo coast in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Irish Folklore Commission and newspaper accounts, leading to the vessel being identified.[1]
See also
- Streedagh Armada wrecksite - a nearby wrecksite
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Magnier, Eileen (16 December 2020). "True identity of Streedagh beach 'Butter Boat' uncovered". RTÉ News. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Sligo shipwreck revealed to be Whitby Greyhound boat". BBC News. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ O'Riordan, Ellen (17 December 2020). "Mystery of Sligo shipwreck solved 250 years after it sank". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Shipwreck mystery solved – 250 years to the week it sank". gov.ie. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
- ^ a b Siggins, Lorna (2020-12-17). "Sligo Shipwreck Mystery Solved – 250 Years After it Sank". afloat.ie. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
External links
- A Shipwreck at Streedagh Bay, Co. Sligo duchas.ie