Wreck of famous Sligo Ship Located off Isle of Man
By Paul Deering
Sligo Champion, August 20, 1997
The 81-year-old wreck of a steamship that traversed the Irish Sea from Liverpool to Sligo in the early part of this century has been found off the south coast of the Isle of Man by a diving enthusiast.
Three Sligomen died when the ship, the Liverpool, sank after hitting a mine soon after it left the port bound for Sligo with a large general cargo of merchandise in December 1916.
The man who located the ship, Adrian Corkill from the Isle of Man, has completed about eight dives on the wreck and has collected a number of artifacts from it, including a brass steering stand which has the name J. Moffatt scratched into it in several places.
Mr. Moffatt, from Sligo, was second mate on the ship and was one of the survivors. Those who perished were D. Garvey, Sligo, who was winchman, J. Costello, also from Sligo and J .P. Gillen from Rosses Point, the latter being the sole passenger on board.
Mr. Corkill first discovered the Liverpool at the end of last year but it wasn’t until this summer that conditions allowed him to make further dives and positively identify the ship.
The Liverpool was the Sligo Steam Navigation Company’s largest steamer and was built in 1892 by Messrs. John Jones and Sons of Liverpool and was constructed to the specifications of Mr. H. H. West, the naval architect for the Sligo company.
Weighing 686 tons, the ship had electricity powered lighting throughout and attained a speed of 13 knots on its trial trip.
From the 1840s to the middle of this century, the Liverpool was one of a number of steamships that operated between Sligo and the cities of Glasgow and Liverpool.
The Liverpool hit a mine some hours after it left the English Port on Tuesday, December 19th, at 11.30pm. Captain Francis Devaney ordered the engines to be stopped and the lifeboats to be launched. The stricken vessel was towed by a passing steamship, the Ruby, from Glasgow, for a while but around 5.40 am on the 20th the Liverpool sank.
It was Captain Devaney’s opinion that Mr. Costello was killed by the force of the explosion while Mr. Gillen and Mr. Garvey were drowned, being unable to get through the wreckage. The survivors were taken by the Ruby to Clydebank.
Since then the Liverpool has remained in its watery grave, though interest in the possibility of raising her will now be heightened following her discovery by Mr. Corkhill.
He intends to continue making dives to the wreck and said he was very interested in hearing from Sligo people who had any further information about the ship.
"In particular I am seeking photographs of her and plans, if they still exist. Also I would welcome correspondence from descendents of the crew of the Liverpool," he said.