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The M.V. Kilcrae of Cork, N.R.T. 245. G.N.T. 409. O/N400982.
I joined this ship as an Able Seaman on the South Wall of Dublin next to
Kelly's or Clancy's Pub? The Captain was Tom Roche. The vessel was under the management of Avoca
Shipping Ltd. of When Capt Roche returned it was only for a brief period, as he then
transferred to Arklow Shipping. To look at the Kilcrae one would think it was not a fit vessel to sail
across the dock in. We all did our The cook was Glady's Smith of Sharpness, Glady's Married Tom Roche
eventually.
In the year 1803 sir william Dillon was posted to Hull as Second in Command of the impressment Service at that port. The Impressment Service was the dignified name which the authorities gave to the better known press gangs which operated to force men into joining the naval service At the time in question the British merchant service held a far greater attraction for seamen than did the navy. For one thing a seaman in the merchant marine received 30/- per month as against 19/- if he served in the navy. There was also the fact that the merchant vessels had become very numerous and most of the experienced seamen were attached to merchant ships. With the outbreak of war with France in 1803 the need for men to serve on naval vessels was very great and despite the bounty paid to men who would join, the problem created by the shortage of men was not solved. For that reason the authorities resorted to the system of 'Impressment' and so the press gangs became more active at this period than at any other time in history. When Dillon was posted to Hull he found that his superior officer was an elderly man who was quite happy to sit in his office and leave the "dirty work'' of organising the press gangs to Dillon himself. A job like this was distasteful to any officer, but Dillon's loyalty to the service and his devotion to duty made him efficient in the work he had to do. Officers
in charge of press gangs were called 'yellow admirals', a term which was
used to denote the officers' quarantine in a dead end job. Contrary to popular belief the actions of the press gangs were very much restricted by the legal exemptions from "impressment". All persons under 18 years of age and over 55 years of age were exempt; seamen with less than two years of seagoing experience were exempt and in the case of apprentices those with less than three years experience were also exempt. While the press gangs found that their efforts to obtain men on the high seas were more fruitful than their raids ashore, out bound vessels could not be approached by them. In the case of inward bound vessels the press gangs were required by law to leave sufficient men on board to ensure the merchant vessel safe navigation to her anchorage and a safe berthing. Masters, Chief Mates, Boatswains and Carpenters on ships of 50 tons deadweight or over could not be taken either. Pilots too were exempt unless an unfortunate Pilot happened to run a ship aground. As a result of all these exemptions the number of men available for impressment" was considerably reduced and the records for 1803 show that of the total men obtained for the navy, 37,000 were volunteers as against 2,000 of pressed" men. In addition to the small number of men obtained through the action of the press gangs, the quality of the men"impressed" was very poor and most of the naval officers who were obliged to take these men complained bitterly of the low type of men with which they had to contend. IN IRELAND Despite the high rating of Irish men serving in the British merchant and naval service, the press gangs operated to a limited extent in this country. It
is oF interest to note that the percentage of
officers supplied
at
that time than the percentage from any their
arrival at the public house they discovered
a wake in progress. However the high spirited nature of the festivities
going on in the house made the officer in charge doubtful of the
sincerity of the mourners. His suspicions
were roused to such
an extent
that he
ordered the coffin to be opened. Whereupon the ‘corpse” popped up his
head and leaped out of the coffin with a shriek of laughter. Subsequently
the recently “deceasEd” quite willingly accompanied his captors and
turned out to be an excellent Seaman. Public opinion was very much against the press gangs and whenever an appeal was made to the Courts against the decision of the press gangs the judges invariably ruled in favour of the victims, The weight of public opinion, together with the limited success of the system of “impressment’ eventually lead to the disappearance of the press gangs. Few people mourned their passing, but, nevertheless,today in countries which are faced with the problem of providing large defence or military forces, the system of conscription which is in itself a form of ‘‘impressment’’ still persists. We
can only hope that the fear of war which makes
for coercion of this nature will itself disappear
and that men will acknowledge, in time,
the futility of
war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE IRISH STARS WERE FAMOUS SAILING SHIPS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE BELFAST FIRM OF J.P.CORRY & CO. IN THE LATE 19th. CENTURY. THE FIRST OF THE "STAR" SHIPS WAS THE "STAR
OF ERIN" AT 949 G.TONS. OTHER SHIPS OF
THE LINE WERE:
HISTORY OF IRELAND FOR THOSE LOVELY IRISH STARS".
NEW
AGREEMENT BETWEEN JANUARY 1968 Negotiations
which have taken place, under the auspices of the Labour Court, According
to the agreement, the Union undertakes that manning scales negotiated for
vessels operated by Association members, will not be higher than those for vessels
of similar types operated by comparable near-European companies, i.e. U.K., Scandinavian,
German, French, Dutch and Belgian. The manning operation and day to day maintenance of vessels owned by memberS of the Association will in future be agreed without regard to traditional practices or divisions of labour, subject always to the current regulations of the Department of Transport & Power, to which Department the Union will have the right to make representations and recommendations. Arising out of the agreemEnt, a general purpose crew has been agreed on. The general purpose concept provides for interchange ability between Deck and Engine Room Ratings, thus eliminating much tradijonal demarcation and departmentalisation. The first
vessel to be operated with a gp crew is the new mv. "Irish Elm". which
sailed on her maiden voyage from Rotterdam on JanuaURY 20th. in view
of the Union's acceptance of these provisions and in recognition of the benefits
rising therefrom, the Association has agreed to pay the Union a sum of £12,000,
phased over a three year period.
JANUARY 1968
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