board as the boat drives forward, keeping the head of the boat up and throwing the water below and behind the boat rather than over its low sides. The faering then cuts more efficiently and with greater speed and safety through the water.
In 1836 the “First report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Irish Fisheries” identified the double–ended, clinker-built Norway yawl or skiff as ‘the predominant type of open working on the north and east coasts of Ireland” None were identified in Donegal, only a few in Sligo. So successful, however, were the builders further east that during the 1880’s the design spread westwards and the successors to the Norway yawl spread into west Donegal. From 1891 to 1906 when the Congested Districts Board (a government sponsored relief organization) provided a grant scheme for boat -purchase, a total of 2476 open boats were built, many of them Greencastle yawls... an amazing number of boats by any standards. It was here that the Norway yawl reached the pinnacle of its design and it remained unchanged through many generations till its decline in the 1950’s.
The Mystery of Ballyshannon Shipping Links with Norway Anthony Begley
T
he port of Trondheim in Norway and its close connections, over two hundred years ago, with the port of Ballyshannon on the north-west coast of Ireland have only recently been re-discovered. Handwritten poems, songs and stories in small booklets, written in the 1820s and 1830s, discovered in the Gunnerus Library in Trondheim, have revealed forgotten links between the two ports at the beginning of the 19th century. The booklets were initially discovered by Eva Hov, a music teacher in Trondheim, and bore the title “Legends, Stories, Poems by MAA Ballyshannon.” The name Thoning Owesen was written on one of the booklets. As a local history researcher in Ballyshannon, I corresponded with Eva Hov and together we patiently unravelled the long forgotten connections between the ports of Ballyshannon and Trondheim. Who was MAA? Why was MAA in Ballyshannon corresponding with Thoning Owesen in Norway? Why were local places such as the Mall Quay, Catsby and Kilbarron Castle in Ballyshannon turning up in correspondence in a Norwegian library? This quest had many twists and turns, before we could unravel the fascinating story behind the long forgotten family and trading connections between Ballyshannon and Trondheim.
The Norway yawls ranged all across the north from Donegal Bay to Carlinford for close on two hundred years…till time and the engine ended their days. Few mourned their passing as the life they represented was brutal and unforgiving. However, as an example of superb boat design, with its elegant form closely following its perfect functionality it ranks among the finest achievements of Irish vernacular marine craftsmanship. Donal MacPolin
The design of the boats which had replaced the Norse craft changed very little for almost 200 years and it was not till the coming of the marine engine that radical co-design changes took place and the rowing/sailing yawl quickly faded away. Fishemen are not romantics. When bigger, faster, safer, more efficient, more reliable (and more comfortable) craft arrived ‘the ould boats went to the wan side’. (Inishowen fisheman John ‘Jack’ McLaughlin)
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Trade and Family Connections between Trondheim and Ballyshannon Thoning Owesen (1804-1881) was identified as the son of a merchant in Trondheim, a seaport in Norway. His father Otto Friedrich Owesen (1768-1808) was exporting timber and often travelled by ship to Ireland. Indeed he seems to have been a frequent visitor to Ballyshannon port with cargoes of timber and in Ballyshannon he made contact with the Allingham family. In 1803 Otto Owesen married Jane Allingham and the following year their son Thoning was born in Dublin. In 1804 shortly after the birth of Thoning, the family returned to Trondheim to live. They purchased a house there and aptly named it “Ballyshannon”. In 1804 Edward Allingham, Jane’s brother, went to live for a time with his sister in Norway and to learn the shipping business, as the Allingham’s had shipping interests back in Ballyshannon. In 1805 William Allingham, another brother of Jane’s, arrived in Trondheim from Ballyshannon. He was the father of the well known Ballyshannon poet who was also called William. After less than two years in Norway, Jane Owesen (nee Allingham) sadly died in 1805. Her husband Otto was in bad health and the Allingham family offered to care for Thoning, aged three at the time. Thoning returned to Ballyshannon in the company of Madge, the Allingham’s housekeeper, who travelled from Ballyshannon to Trondheim to bring him back. He was also accompanied by his uncle, William Allingham, then aged 18, the father of the poet. Otto Owesen had no family in Trondheim and it was with a heavy heart that he bid farewell to his son. Otto continued at his work but his health deteriorated. He made requests that his son Thoning should soon return from Ireland but this didn’t happen because
of world events. This was the period of the Napoleonic Wars and a blockade which permitted few ships to cross the North Sea. This blockade ruined many trades in Trondheim and, no doubt, had an impact on the import of timber from the Baltic to Ballyshannon. Thoning was not to see his father again as Otto Owesen died in 1812. Coincidentally a Norwegian ship called “Hawkerman”, with Captain Throw in command, was wrecked at Ballyshannon on the 27th March 1812- evidence that despite the blockade trade between Ballyshannon and Norway continued, although at a reduced rate. Thoning Owesen spent his formative years in Ballyshannon with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. In August 1814 Thoning was sent as a boarder to Foyle College in Derry. He lived as a boarder in the Lawrence Hill buildings. (These buildings form part of Magee College today). He was accompanied by another pupil James Allingham who was his uncle. It is interesting to note the strong connections between this part of Ireland and Norway as a number of Norwegian boys attended Foyle College in 1814. Thoning’s education was devoted to classical studies at which he showed excellent talent and he made good progress in Derry. He spent his holidays from school in Ballyshannon and by Christmas 1819 had completed his education. In 1820 Thoning travelled to Trondheim with his uncle Edward, on what must have been a sad trip to visit the graves of his mother and father. He also had inherited his father’s wealth and his visit influenced him to return to live in Norway. Our Ballyshannon search began with the hunt for Jane Allingham and who her immediate family were. In researching the Allingham genealogy, it emerged that Jane Allingham who had gone to Norway was one of the daughters of John Allingham and Jane Hamilton. Her sister Mary Anne was the MAA of the poems and the author of verses which have been recently discovered in Norway. The explanation as to why MAA was writing to Thoning Owesen in Norway, with the news about Ballyshannon, was now becoming much clearer. She was corresponding with her nephew who had grown up in Ballyshannon and who would have been familiar with people and places in the locality. What becomes especially interesting is that Mary Anne Allingham was writing poetry and that she was to be a major influence on her nephew William, who is today recognised as the bard of Ballyshannon. His poems such as “The Fairies” and “Adieu to Ballyshannon” are familiar to many Irish people.
The Impact of the Napoleonic War on Ballyshannon Trade Trondheim, in the 19th century, was the main port of import and export for a major part of Norway from Bergen to the very north. There were three major export trades, copper, dried and salted fish and timber from a vast area around the Trondheim fjord, and also timber transported by river from the Swedish border. Some timber was exported to England but Ireland was the major recipient. The experience
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