By Anne Delaney

When the Second World War broke out Ireland announced its neutrality and was catapulted into an isolation it had never known before. For in 1939 Ireland was an island nation without a viable shipping fleet. Hardship and hunger loomed if Ireland failed to secure the vital supplies the country needed.

Ireland was in jeopardy partly because the need for an independent Irish shipping fleet had been disregarded by cash-strapped governments since independence.

When war was declared only 5% of imports to Ireland were transported by Irish ships. The Irish fleet consisted of 56 vessels – not enough to keep the country supplied.

Even worse, most of these ships, known as ‘coasters,’ were designed for short journeys – not for the hazards of the powerful Atlantic. They had feeble engines and were often dependent on the wind for progress. Some of them were very old; the schooner Brooklands was built in 1859.

The Irish government formed the Irish Shipping Company in March 1941 and managed with difficulty to secure the use of a further 15 ocean-going dry cargo ships, in various stages of disrepair.

This ragtag of vulnerable ships, called Ireland’s Lilliputian Fleet by Captain Frank Forde in his book, ‘The Long Watch’, constituted Ireland’s fragile connection to the markets it needed to ride out the war.

With reckless courage, this ‘Lilliputian’ fleet and their contingents of merchant seamen launched themselves and their unarmed vessels into dangerous seas to keep Ireland afloat. These vessels sailed alone, labelling themselves as neutral and Irish by painting the Irish flag and EIRE in giant letters on their sides and decks.

They sailed in the shadow of great danger, under constant threat from wild seas and enemy attack. Yet they saw to it that vital imports, such as coal from Britain and wheat and fruits from Spain, continued to reach the country and that exports critical to the Irish economy – mainly food to Britain – were delivered.

My uncle, Richard Delaney of Wexford town, was one of those sailors. He frequently sailed on the Irish Pine but wasn’t on board for the doomed voyage to Boston when, on 15th November, 1942, the Irish Pine was torpedoed by the German vessel U-608 under Kapitanleutenant Rolf Struckmeier. It went down in rough seas, stern first, sinking in just 3 minutes. The bodies of her crew of 33 were never found.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own