AROUND THE PORT OF DUBLIN

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Around The Port Of Dublin

Tony Brennan

THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEWS ALL ABOUT THE BUSY PORT OF DUBLIN. INCLUDED IN THIS WEB SITE ARE PHOTOGRAPHS OF SOME OF THE SHIPS THAT FREQUENT THE PORT AS WELL AS SOME LONG GONE.

S.O.S. MANXMAN......... CLICK HERE

CLICK ON IMAGES ABOVE TO SEE FULL PICTURE

Prison Hulk - HMS Essex

Between the years 1824 – 1837, the people of Dun Laoghaire had to endure the sorry sight of the prison hulk HMS Essex which was moored in the harbour. She lay approximately 50 yards from the East Pier and about 100 yards out from the National Yacht Club. The HMS Essex, as she is now called, was originally the USS Essex. When launched in 1799, she was 142ft in length, 26ft in width and a draft of 12.5ft. Her total cost was $139,362 dollars. The people of Salem and Essex county raised the necessary funding to build the frigate and presented her to the American government. The Essex was to be used for the protection of American trade and seamen against pirates around the Barbary Coast and Gibraltar regions.

USS Essex

In 1812, when war was declared against Britain, Essex was dispatched to the area around Bermuda where she played a significant part in capturing and sinking numerous British vessels. In March 1814 while she was sailing in neutral waters near Valparaiso she was attacked by the British frigate Phoebe and the sloop-of-war Cherub. The Essex tried to out manoeuvre and resist the superior fire power of the British, but after a 3hour engagement and a casualty list of 38 dead, 66 wounded and 33 missing, she was eventually forced to surrender.

Essex Anchor

The Essex was repaired and joined the Royal Navy being renamed HMS Essex. She appears to have been laid up in Plymouth for many years before being moved to Dun Laoghaire to serve as a prison hulk which entailed all the masts being cut down. For the next 13 years, her stay in Dun Laoghaire was dogged by controversy and scandals and viewed upon with grave concern by the clergy and the locals. Conditions on board were appalling with fever and dysentery rampant among the 250 prisoners. Prisons spent between 16 and 18 hours per day below decks. Unique to the Essex were the fact that these prisoners on board were never used by the authorities to work on shore or anywhere around the harbour area. The prisoners ranged from young boys to old men and were held for a variety of crimes from petty theft to murder. The only form of contact between families was by the wives, mothers, daughters, sisters or children standing on the nearby rocks, calling out their loved ones names in either Irish or English. Most were awaiting transportation to Australia and it is estimated that between 1824 and 1837, 5251 prisoners spent time on the Essex.

Essex Anchor

With a change of government in Britain, the practise of using prison ships was phased out and discontinued. At the end of 1837, the Essex was auctioned and sold for £2000 GBP. She was then broken up for scrap. The Mariner’s Church in Dun Laoghaire was completed in 1837 to cater for seafarers who sought shelter in the Harbour. The Church had been renovated over the past number of years but one of the main features of the church has been retained. This is the spot between the stained glass windows in the gallery where the prison docks are situated. This is where prisoners under punishment on vessels could be kept under guard while still attending services.

During excavation of the harbour in 2005, an anchor was raised from the seabed. Locals believe that this is from the Essex and appears to have been modified to suit the mooring needs of the Essex.