THE IRISH PINE

I'm stepping back into 'Family Tree' mode again for a bit.  My daughter says I have some very interesting people and stories in my family history and I have to agree.  I've been doing a bit of research along Fergus O'Ryan's line because of an exciting piece of information passed on to me by my second cousin...Thanks Ted!  Apparently Fergus lost a brother during the war and here's how the story goes....

When hostilities broke out during World War II and Ireland had declared its neutrality during the early years of 1941, the Irish Government realised that they needed to become more independent and self-sufficient because most of its food requirements were being carried aboard allied vessels.  Seán Lamass, Minister of supplies at the time (a veteran of the 1916 Rising, the War Of Independence and the Civil War and who later served as Taoiseach) felt that the creation of an Irish merchantile marine, neutral and with no military aims, was necessary.  This decision was followed by the formation of an Irish state-owned deep sea shipping company, ‘Irish Shipping Limited’.   The only problem was…it had no ships!

Ships were a scarce resource during the early years of World War II and Irish Shipping Limited’s management in their endeavour to acquire some, took whatever they could get their hands on.  Their first acquisition was the Irish Poplar, which they acquired from Spain after being abandoned following an attack by a German aircraft in the Bay of Biscay.  Of Greek origin and formerly named Vassilious Destounis, it was towed into the Spanish port of Aviles by fishermen.  Irish Shipping purchased it shortly afterwards.

Their second acquisition was the Irish Pine.  Formerly called the West Hematite, it was built for the United States Maritime Commission in 1919. The ship ran aground in 1923 and by 1933 it was passed to the United States Shipping Board.  It was laid up for a time after the banning of American ships from the European war zone in 1940 and was later withdrawn from service and placed in the reserve fleet.  In 1941, Irish Shipping Limited chartered the West Hematite for £3,251 a month and renamed it, The Irish Pine.

The Irish Pine 1941

Whilst on passage from Halifax to Limerick in August 1942, the Irish Pine rescued members of the crew of a British motor vessel called the Richmond Castle which had been torpedoed off the south coast of Ireland.  A similar fate was awaiting the Irish Pine when in October 1942, it sailed from Dublin to Tampa, Florida to load a cargo of phosphate rock.  The ship was scheduled to call at Boston to have its tanks overhauled.  On Nov  13^th, the master of the Irish Pine sent a wireless message forward to Boston to advise their arrival would be on Nov 16^th.  It was to be the final communication received from the vessel.  When no further news of the ship was confirmed, the company’s directors decided in Dec that the ship should be presumed lost and that all next-of-kin should be informed.  The true fate of the Irish Pine was not uncovered for a further 35 years, by a researcher.  At the end of the war, German submarine diaries were captured by British forces.  The records showed that the Irish Pine was sunk on Nov 16^th, 1942 when it was struck by a torpedo fired by German submarine U-608.  It was followed for 8 hours in the rain and snowfall.  At no time do the records show that its neutrality markings were seen, eventhough clearly identified as such with EIRE and the Irish Green, White and Gold colours.  It was recorded that ‘A lifeboat with a very bright light was lowered’  but unfortunately the ship sank within 3 minutes of being hit.  All of its 33 crew members were lost in the tragedy and no wreckage or bodies were ever found….including my third cousin and Fergus O’Ryan’s brother Sean,  age 22 – Merchant Navy/Steam Merchant/Fireman.

The Irish Pine by Kenneth King

In 1945, the President of Ireland, Eamon deValera in a speech to the nation said 
“To the men of our Merchantile Marine who faced all the perils of the ocean to bring us essential supplies, the nation is profoundly grateful”

M.V. Munster sunk in the Irish Sea - Feb 1940 – 4 injured/1 died later.

Leukos sunk by gunfire in NW Tory Island – Mar 1940 – 11 dead.

S.S. City Of Limerick sunk by U-boat in the Nth.Atlantic  - Jul 1940 – 2 dead.

S.S. Meath sunk in the Irish Sea – Aug 1940 – 1 dead.

S.S. Luimneach sunk by submarine gunfire in Nth.Atlantic – Sept 1940 – all 18 survived.

S.S. Kerryhead sunk by aircraft bombs off Cape Clear – Oct 1940 – 12 dead.

S.S. Ardmore sunk off the South coast of Ireland – Nov 1940 – 24 dead.

Lighthouse Tender Isolda sunk by aircraft off the Waterford coast – Dec 1940 – 6 dead.

M.V. Innisfallen sunk off Liverpool – Dec 1940 – 4 dead.

S.S. St Fintan sunk in the Irish Sea – Mar 1941 – 4 dead.

S.S. Clonlara sunk in the Nth. Atlantic – Aug 1941 – 11 dead.

S.S. City Of Waterford sunk in a collision in the Nth.Atlantic  - Sept 1941 – 5 dead.

S.S. City Of Bremen sunk by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay – Jun 1942 – 11 dead.

S.S. Irish Pine torpedoed and sunk in the Nth.Atlantic  - Nov 1942 – 33 dead.

S.S. Kyleclare torpedoed in the Nth.Atlantic – Feb 1943 – 18 dead.

S.S. Irish Oak sunk by U-boat in Nth.Atlantic – May 1943 – all 33 survived.

Schooner Cymric missing on passage to Lisbon – Mar 1944 – 11 dead.

F-Vessel Naomh Garbhan sunk off Waterford coast – May 1945 – 3 dead.