Strai t ofB ellelsle. The entire crew ca me off sa fely, but very littl e was salvaged . Gro unded full y laden, her aging hull wo uld have pounded mercilessly on the botto m, brea kin g up very quickly. On the 20th she was surveyed , and it was found th at she had a large hole in the hull, th ro ugh whi ch a great part of the cargo we nt as ho re. T he Dunbrody was acco rdingly co ndemned and so ld fo r ÂŁ30. T he bark had traded the transArl anti c ro ute with much success fo r just over 30 yea rs, earnin g her building cos t many times ove r and los ing a minimum of human li ves during th ose many th ousa nds of sea miles, a good record fo r a wo rkin g vessel. Celebrating a Maritime Tradition T he John F. Kenn edyT rusrwas created in 1988 by members of the New Ross Lio ns C lub . Ir was recognized that New Ross had the capaciry to be a majo r to urism area, give n the history of the tow n, its mariti me trad itio n and its co nnectio n with such well kn own Irish-Ame ricans as the Ke nn edy fa mil y-local fa rmer Pa tri ck Kenn ed y crossed to No rth America in 1849 , and the Kenn edy fa mil y has maintain ed close links with Co un ty Wexfo rd since Pres ident John F. Ke nn edy's histo ri c rerurn to his ancestral ho me in 1963. As rhe bu ilding of this repli ca emig rant ship co in cided wirh rhe sesqui cen te nnial co mmemo rati o n of rhe Famine, rhe project roo k o n broader and mo re imm edi ate dimensio ns-and aurhenri ciry beca me paramounr in rhe des ign process. Fo rtun ately, a large collectio n of documents from G raves & So n survived in th e possessio n of D avid M cBride, whose grandfa ther Ned McBride bo ught the co mpany in the early 1930s in partn ers hip with Robert Elmes of Cork. Six metal boxes co ntained documenrs incl uding crew agreements and captains' letters fro m all over rhe wo rld. O ne document was of particular inreresr: rhe o riginal bill of sale of rhe D unbrody in August 1845 berween William G raves of New Ross and Reuben D eaves of Cork, who had co mmissioned the ship together. A gold mine of information, ir gave rhe main dimensio ns of the ship and o ther derai ls of the srrucrure. From rhis, local marine arrist Garry Fallon was able to d raw rhe bas ic o utlines of rhe D unbrody, even before naval architect Colin M udie-whose previous projects include the new Indi an sail training ship Tarangini-ha d come o n
SEA HISTORY 88, AUTUMN 1999
The original Dunb rody was a three-masted bark, 109. 1 feet in length between perpendiculars, with a breadth of26 7 feet. The replica, as shown in this outboard sketch by naval architect Colin Mudie, has a length overall of 176 feet, a length between perpendiculars of 110 feet, a breadth of 27 feet and a depth of 19 feet. rhe scene. In November 1996, Mud ie produced a set of drawings fo r the new D unbrody, which laid o ut a hull conraining che viral elem ents of a ship of her rype and purpose, based o n th e ship's o riginal dim ensions- I 09 . 10 feet in length berween perpendiculars and 26.7 feet in breadth . By th e summero f 1998, rhe ca rvel-built hull was full y pl anked and the deck beam s had been fitted. At present, the D unbrody is almost complete srrucru rally. T he mizzen and mainmast have bee n stepped and rigged; che foremas t and bowsp rit will soo n follow. By firrin g th e 17'-high oak rudder, che Irish builders have signaled rhac chis vessel is just abo ut ready fo r che water. Like so many p rojects of chis sco pe, the Dunbrody w ill remain in d rydock beyo nd her original maiden voyage date of M arch 1999, due to a sho rtfal l in fund ing. H er maiden voyage, now pl ann ed fo r 2000, will rake her across ch e Arl anri c bo und for Boston, then o n to New London , Connecticut, Philadelphia, New Yo rk, Quebec, Buffalo, Sc. Johns and other cities important to rhe Irish di as po ra, reenacting the journeys of the thousands who went from Ireland to the New Wo rld berween 1845 and 185 1 and paying tribute to the great days of sail. But this project does no t end with the sailing of the ship . O n her re rurn from the US and Canada, rheDunbrodywill become a to urist attractio n o n rhe quays of New
Ross, ho usin g an interactive heritage center where visitors will have an opporruni ry to experience historic emigrant voyages th ro ugh state-of- the-art technology and to learn in an interactiveway aboutth eachievements of those who left Ireland for new sho res, celebrating the "Spirit oflreland. " Sin ce 1992, th e JF K T rust has been co mputeri zin g tho usands of passe nge r lists of ships leavin g the shores of Ireland, E ngland, W ales and Sco tl and during th e yea rs 1846- 192 0 for the ports of Philadelphi a, Bos ton , New Orleans, Baltimore and New York. This should be made available soon to genealogists and researchers. W hil e recognizing the tragic aspects of the Famin e, rhe JFK Trust is eager to develop another face of the era oflrish emigration: rhe hope, determination, and courage of those who rook a chance on new oppo rrunities. A visitor leaving the Dunbrody should have the impress ion char he himself voyaged with our ancestors. .t
This article is excerpted from a piece written by Aude Bates, H istorical Researcher, and Anthony Mcl oughlin, Shipwright, both with The D unbrody Project. The D unbrody Project,JFKTrust, Ross Company Shipyard, Raheen, New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland,¡ 353 5 1 425239,fax: 353 5 1 425240; e-mail:jjktrust@io!.ie; web site: www.dunbrody.com. 23