SS Connemara

SS Connemara was a 1,106-ton steam passenger/cargo ship built in 1897 by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, Scotland for London & North Western Railway Company. On 3 November 1916 she sank in a severe gale following a collision with a 496 ton Collier, SS Retriever, which was also lost. The tragedy happened off Carlingford Bar, while voyaging from Greenore to Holyhead with passengers, general cargo and cattle. The Connemara sank quickly and all 32 crew and 54 passengers aboard the Connemara were lost. Of the 9 crew members of the Retriever, only one survived - James Boyle, Seaman of Summerhill, Warrenpoint, Co. Down.

A more detailed description of the tragedy can be found here.

Although the loss was not attributed to enemy action the town felt deeply enough for the local crew's names to be included on the Town War Memorial.

The builder's model of the SS Connemara is available for viewing at the Holyhead Maritime Museum

Holyhead crew members lost on the Connemara