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The Irish coast has seen shipwrecks from Celtic times through to the present day. The Romans may have had a small bridgehead at Loughshinny and continental wars were fought offshore. The 1588 Spanish Armada came by and left its tribute of twenty-six ships on the remote west coast. Before 1800 ports like Dublin, Strangford, Waterford, Kinsale and Wexford were very significant. After the Industrial Revolution Liverpool, Glasgow and Cardiff came to prominence. Hazards around Ireland range from the rocky cliffs of the west coast coupled with a transatlantic landfall in fog or snow to the treacherous sandbanks of the east coast.
The photographs come from a variety of sources who generously supported the project. They are representative of all modern stages of shipping from sail, to steam and motor vessels. The more famous ships 'Great Britain' and 'Lusitania' feature among the Irish wrecks.
The role of the rescue services features prominently. The coastguard, early lifeboats, brave individuals, helicopter crews and RNLI lifeboats are all represented. A topic that is often forgotten is the fate of the ships after the crews have been rescued. Nearly all the prominent salvage firms worked on the Irish Coast.
The wartime activity around the coast in both world wars has largely been forgotten because the sea was so remote from land-based folk at the time. Unless a mine came ashore there was notice taken of things that went bump in the night. Some remarkable pictures from the First World War have survived and many of these have not been published before.
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