irish elm crew

Gaillard Cut, Panama canal
June 1970

Irish Elm Passing through Panama Canal
on way to Amsterdam from Japan.

Richard Saunders

25th.January 2007

This photo was taken early '60s aboard IRISH ELM Standing 1st. trip app. Wearing white cap is Boscoe Edwards from Dublin.next Bill Heffernan Passage East then Bill Gunnip from Cheekpoint Co. Waterford and "Chippy" Cahil from Dublin.
info from "Lamptrimmer" June 06'

! CAPT. D. Peter Boucher: August 06'--Sorry lamptrimmer but that is not the "Irish Elm" in 1960. I am that Ist. trip apprentice in the photo and was in the Elm in 1953. Served from 1954 to 1958. In 1960 I was a 2nd. Mate in New Zealand. Try to enlarge the lifering on the starboard rail by the apprentices accommodation to see the name. Best regards,
Peter

"Just found my Apprentices record. I was in "Irish Elm", Capt. E.C.G. Horne, from 29 Dec 1953, when she arrived in Dublin from builders, until August 1954 when I transferred to the "Irish Cedar" joining on 23 August 1954, Capt. J.P. Kelly. The "Elm's" lifeboat davits were of a different design and the boats carvel aluminum hulled. As you can see in the photo these lifeboats are clinker built wooden hulls. So that is NOT the "ELM" and certainly NOT the 60's. Still figure it is the "Hazel" and it must be between 1954 and 1956 again from my record. As to the lads I'm sure 'lamptrimmer' knows them much better than I do and no doubt is correct there. Best regards,"

!! Lamptrimmer September 06'---In reply to Captain Boucher's claim to be the Apprentice in the photo on the IRISH ELM page. I took that photo with a Kodak 66 bellows camera on 620 film.The one time I sailed on the IRISH ELM was between the dates recorded in my Discharge Book. I recall that the Apprentice in question was a first tripper and I think English. Regarding the lifeboat build, I don't have an answer. Perhaps someone can explain ,Were the lifeboats replaced as a result of damage caused by the severe storm Captain Boucher described? The photo below was taken on the IRISH MAPLE. L-R. Jimmy Gorman (Dublin) Messman (I think Goucher Dublin) John Cisakowski. Willie Flavin(Youghal. Cape Horner/Top Rigger on the Moby Dick Film ) Denny Nockter (Arklow) .

!!! Jim Kelly 27th.September 06'----I have been following this discussion & looked closely at photograph.

It is not the Irish Plane or Hazel which I served on from 1954 to 1957. The apprentices accommodation on both vessels did not have a side porthole on the port side, nor were there any centre stays. The Plane, Hazel, & Cedar all had derricks whose heads housed low-down on cup like housing on aft end of boat deck, you leaned over boat deck rails when housing. The ship's deck as shown in the photo has two tripod stands on either side of the apprentices accommodation door, these I would imagine are for housing the heads of No 4's derricks, the derricks are obviously high & there is a fire hose hanging from the port derrick no doubt drying out after a fire drill, the derricks are obviously housed as the ship is at sea. The centre stays shown outside of the Apprentices door, are not a feature on either the Plane or Hazel nor do they seem to appear on a photo of the Cedar that I looked at.

1970s ---photos from
Erc Kealy

Bulbous Bow Irish Elm in clear Pacific waters 1970.

Irish Elm 1970, Pat Collins, Mich Lydon, Jimmy Geary.

Irish Elm passing Irish Rowan 1982.jpg (91026 bytes)

Irish Elm passing Irish Rowan 1979.

Pat O'Halloran here. "I was Chief Engineer on the Irish elm when the photo of her at sea was taken. The year was 1979 and the Elm was on her way to Rotterdam drydock to be handed over to the Greeks, two of whom where on board at the time. We were enroute from Fredricia in Denmark having unloaded a cargo from New Orleans I think but definitely the Gulf Of Mexico and it was early 1979."

Pat O'Halloran 28th.August 06'