 | |
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 1825 |
| Defunct | 1902 |
| Fate | Taken over |
| Successor | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Drogheda, Liverpool |
The Drogheda Steam Packet Company was founded in 1826 as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co. It provided shipping services between Drogheda and Liverpool from 1825 to 1902, in which year it was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. [1]
The company was founded in July 1825 with the issue of 300 shares at £50 each. It was founded as the Drogheda Paddle Steamship Co. [2]
The board of directors included Robert Pentland, mayor of Drogheda, John Leslie Foster, the MP for County Louth, Blayney T. Balfour, [3] St. George Smith, James McCann, Patrick Ternan, Nathaniel Hill, Patrick Boylan, John Woolsey and William Rodger. [4]
On 13 November 1826, PS Town of Drogheda arrived from Scotland. She made her maiden voyage to Liverpool on 26 November in 14 hours. Until 1829 a weekly service was operated sailing from Drogheda on Fridays and returning on Tuesdays under its master, Captain M. Ownes. She was employed until 1846, when she was sold.[ citation needed ]
In 1829, the company temporarily chartered the PS Liffey and PS Mersey from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company to increase the sailings to three per week. These were sent back when the new ship, PS Fair Trader was delivered at the end of the year.[ citation needed ]
Further expansion in the 1830s saw the arrival of PS Green Isle the PS Irishman and PS Grainne Ueile.[ citation needed ]
PS Faugh-a-Ballagh was acquired in 1844, the first iron-hulled vessel. This was followed by PS Brian Boroimhe and PS St. Patrick in 1846.[ citation needed ]
In 1902 the assets of the company were taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for the sum of £80,000 [5] (equivalent to £9,239,898 in 2021), [6]
House Flag as seen in the 1882 edition of the Lloyd's Codes Of Distinguishing Flags Of The Steamship Owners Of the United Kingdom. Another version shows a larger Arc.
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Eagle | 1851 | 89 | Harbour Tug, official number 16836 Archived 7 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Built in South Shields. Acquired in 1858. Put up for sale 1894, register closed 1899. [7] |
| Brian Boroimhe | 1846. [8] | 649 | Brian Boroimhe,Official Number Archived 7 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine 16804, Iron Paddle Steamer, Built by Robert Napier, Govan for Passenger / Cargo service between Drogheda and Liverpool, service 1846 to 1880. [9] |
| Colleen Bawn | 1862 | 609 [10] or 679 [2] | Built by Randolph, Elder & Co Ltd, Govan in 1862. [10] Scrapped at Preston, Lancashire in 1901. [2] [11] |
| Fair Trader | 1829 [11] | 200 [12] | Built by John Scott & Sons Ltd, Greenock. [12] Bought new in 1829. [11] |
| Faugh-a-Ballagh | 1844. [11] | Sold in 1879. [11] | |
| Grainne Ueile | 1835 [13] | 245 [13] | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock. [13] Caught fire on 14 April 1847 north of Lambay Island. A total of 22 people killed, 68 rescued by fishing smack Bessy of Ringsend. [11] |
| Green Isle | 1833 | 213 [14] | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock. Sold in 1845, scrapped in 1853. [14] |
| Irishman | 1834 | Built by John Scott & Sons, Greenock. [15] | |
| Iverna | 1895 | 995 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1912 by Messrs Thos. W. Ward. |
| Kathleen Mavourneen | 1885 | 988 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1903 in the Netherlands. |
| Leinster Lass | 1849 [2] | Built by Robert Napier, Port Glasgow. [11] | |
| Liffey | Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829. [11] | ||
| Lord Athlumney | 1871 [2] | 803 [16] | Built by A. & J. Inglis, Port Glasgow. [16] Wrecked in 1888. [11] |
| Mersey | Chartered from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company during 1829. [11] | ||
| Norah Creina | 1878 | 894 | Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in April 1912 in France. |
| St Patrick | 1846 [11] | Used as a French troopship during the Crimean War. [11] | |
| Town of Drogheda | 1826 [11] | 185 (as built) [17] | Built by William Simons & Co Ltd, Greenock. Rebuilt in 1835. Lengthened and increased in tonnage to 234 GRT. [17] Sold in 1848, [11] converted to sail. Foundered some 100 nautical miles (190 km) east of Gibraltar in 1849. [17] |
| Tredagh | 1876 | 901 | Entered service June 1876. [11] Taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1902. Scrapped in 1904. |
PS Maid of the Loch is the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom. She operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years and as of 2022 is being restored near Balloch pier.
The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select committee of the House of Lords in 1922 and finally liquidated in 1930.
The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over rival ferry companies. In 1973, they were merged with MacBraynes as Caledonian MacBrayne.
Empire Balfour was a 7,201 ton refrigerated cargo ship which was built by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow in 1944 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was sold to her managers in 1949 and renamed Barton Grange. In 1958 she was sold to the Western Steamship Co Ltd, Hong Kong and renamed Sunlight. In 1962, she was sold to the Pan-Norse Steamship Co SA, Panama, serving for a further five years until scrapped in 1967.
PS Caledonia was a paddle steamer built in 1934. She principally provided an Upper Clyde ferry service, later moving to Ayr and then Craigendoran.
PS Jeanie Deans was a Clyde paddle steamer, built in 1931 for the London and North Eastern Railway. She was a popular boat, providing summer cruises from Craigendoran until 1964.
TS Duchess of Hamilton was a Clyde passenger excursion steamer, built in 1932 for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. She was a popular boat, providing day cruises from Ayr and remaining in service until 1970.
DEPV Talisman was the world's first diesel-electric paddle vessel. Built in 1935, she was a passenger ferry on the Clyde, seeing wartime service as HMS Aristocrat. From 1953, she served for 14 years on the Millport station.
SS (RMS) Tynwald (I), No. 21921, was an iron paddle-steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the first vessel in the Company to bear the name.
PS Glen Rosa was a 306 GRT passenger paddle steamer that J&G Thomson launched in 1893 for the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR). She served with the Royal Navy in the First World War as HMS Glencross. She was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway fleet in 1923, transferred to the Caledonian Steam Packet Company in 1938 and scrapped in 1939.
This page describes the shipping services of the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
Marchioness Wellesley was a packet paddle steamer launched in 1826 for the Dublin and Wexford Steam Co. She may have been the first steamship built in Ireland. She operated out of Dublin and was last listed in 1838.
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