Sir Samuel Kelly (1879 - 1937) was an Irish coal merchant, philanthropist and businessperson from Belfast, Ireland. He is the son of John Kelly, and grandson of Samuel Kelly. He is known for establishing John Kelly Coal Company as a limited company in 1911 as John Kelly Limited. [1] [2]
Samuel Kelly was born in 1879, on 94 Castlereagh Road, Belfast east.
In 1904, Samuel Kelly took over John Kelly Coal Company at Queen's Quay, Belfast, after his father, John Kelly, passed away.
In 1911, Sir Samuel Kelly established the company as a limited company, as John Kelly Limited, with a capital of £50,000. [3] Weeks later, he took over rival Wm. Barkley & Sons Limited. This was the beginning of a process of growth and expansion which resulted in the company being one of the biggest coal companies in the United Kingdom. [4] One steam coaster, the W.M. Barkley was sold in 1912 to Guinness in Dublin, it was sunk in October 1917 by a German U-Boat. [5]
During the Great War, several of Kelly's fleet were requisitioned by the British Government, the majority would continue play a key coal in the supplying coal to Belfast. [6]
Sir Samuel was Deputy Lieutenant of County Tyrone, Vice-President of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce and an active member of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. He was chair of the Ulster Fireclay Company, the Tyrone Brickworks and the Coalisland Weaving Company. He would take ownership the Cumberland Mine Company and the St Helen’s Colliery. [7] [8]
Kelly was knighted in 1922. He was described as 'A leading merchant, a public benefactor, a consistent and generous supporter of charitable objects'. [9]
In 1929, to access further coal supply, Kelly acquired a coal mine at Workington. Following this, Kelly turned his attention to an Irish coalfield, opening a colliery at Annagher, County Tyrone. [10] [11] At various times he held a around fifteen directorships, including the Ulster Bank and Workington Electric Power Co. [12] [13]
On 9 February 1937, Sir Samuel Kelly died from a long-standing heart condition. [14] Sir Samuel Kelly is buried at Bangor New Cemetery, Bangor. [15] His wife, Lady Kelly bequest many causes. Lady Kelly bequeathed the cost of a new lifeboat for Donaghadee to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1950. [16] [17] [18]
Sir Samuel Kelly Memorial Nursing Home was created in name of Sir Samuel Kelly, after it was gifted by the Kelly family to The Salvation Army. It is situated in Holywood, County Down. [19]
In 1950, a lifeboat was named after Sir Samuel Kelly, and operated for 29 years worth of service under the RNLI's fleet. [20] The Sir Samuel Kelly lifeboat was a part of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. It was in a state of despair, and after being contacted by former and then-current lifeboat crew from Donaghadee to restore it, which they would agree to. It was brought back to Donaghadee Marina Car Park and is now a tourist attraction [21] In 2016, the Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company was formed, and in 2024, funds were used to grow their expedition and continue to restore the interior of the Sir Samuel Kelly Lifeboat. [22] The DHPC would set up a souvenir shop with Sir Samuel Kelly merchandise. [23]
In April 2009, a commemorative plaque was erected by the Ulster History Circle on the Castlereagh Road on the house where Sir Samuel Kelly was born [24]
County Down is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of 961 sq mi (2,490 km2) and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest.
Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about 18 miles (29 km) east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and the historic barony of Ards Lower. It had a population of 6,869 people in the 2011 Census.
North Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Alex Easton, elected at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
Holywood is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland of 306 hectares lying on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby.
The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but the line between Belfast and Bangor was closed in the 1950s, although some of it has been restored near Downpatrick by a heritage line, the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.
MV Princess Victoria was one of the earliest roll-on/roll-off ferries. Completed in 1947, she operated from Stranraer, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland, initially by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) until 1 January 1948 and thereafter by LMS's successor British Railways. During a severe European windstorm on 31 January 1953, she sank in the North Channel with the loss of 135 lives. This was then the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters since World War II. For many years it was believed that 133 people had lost their lives in the disaster. However, research by a local historian, Liam Kelly, identified two other victims—Gordon Wright and Thomas Saunders—who had not been identified as there had been no passenger list at the time.
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and consumer goods, and is also Northern Ireland's leading logistics and distribution hub.
Belfast Lough Yachting Conference (BLYC) is a group that encompasses the yacht clubs on Belfast Lough and Larne Lough in Northern Ireland. Its primary aim is to look after scheduling the regattas that each club host, to try to prevent clashing events. Member clubs within the conference include:
The economy of Belfast, Northern Ireland was initially built on trade through Belfast Harbour. Later, industry contributed to its growth, particularly shipbuilding and linen. At the beginning of the 20th century Belfast was both the largest producer of linen in the world and also boasted the world's largest shipyard. Civil unrest impacted the city's industry for many years, but with the republican and loyalist ceasefires of the mid-1990s, Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, the city's economy has seen some resurgence once again.
Queen's Quay is a section of the River Lagan, in the western Titanic Quarter of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The quay became known as the Coal Quay during it's industrial period, with industrial businesses running along the quay, including scrap and coal transporting and exporting to and from freight and coal boats.
The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in public places in honour of people and locations that have contributed to all genres of history within the boundaries of the nine-county province of Ulster. Founded in the early 1980s, the group receives no government funding, unlike many similar organisations in the United Kingdom.
The High Sheriff of Down is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Down. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
The High Sheriff of Tyrone is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Tyrone. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
Straandlooper is an animation studio and video game developer based in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland. They developed the episodic video game for iPhone, Hector: Badge of Carnage, which is based on their character Hector: Fat Arse of the Law. Straandlooper is notable for being Northern Ireland's first animation studio to produce a television series for the international market. As a video game developer, they are notable for being the first company where Telltale Games took on a publishing role, rather than a directing role. Telltale funded the development of the final two episodes of Hector: Badge of Carnage and published all three episodes on additional platforms, in addition to iOS.
RNLB Sir William Arnold was an Arun-class lifeboat which served at Saint Peter Port Lifeboat Station in Guernsey from 1974 to 1997, and is now preserved at Heybridge Basin in Essex.
Bangor Lifeboat Station is located at Sea Cliff Road, Bangor, a city located at the top of the Ards Peninsula, overlooking Belfast Lough, 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Belfast, in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Samuel Kelly (1818–1877) was an Irish businessman, unionist gun-runner, shipowner and coal merchant, from Ballinderry, Ireland. He was the father of John Kelly, founder of John Kelly Coal Company. He is also the grandfather of Sir Samuel Kelly, founder of John Kelly Limited. He started a business on Queen's Quay in 1840 as a "grocer and commission coal merchant". He invested his time into an industry that did not yet take off in Ireland. He is a key figure in the beginnings of what would be a thriving industry and a significant contributor to the economy of Ireland.
John Kelly Limited, also known as Kelly's Coal Quay, Kelly's Coal, or simply Kelly's, was best known for being coal merchants and shipowner in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dating back to the 1840s, when Samuel Kelly started a grocers and coal commissions business on Queen's Quay, Belfast. It was previously known as John Kelly Coal Company, when Samuel Kelly's son John Kelly, took over as owner following his father's death. It was established as John Kelly Limited by John Kelly's son, and grandson of Samuel Kelly, Sir Samuel Kelly, keeping the name of his father. It became a staple along the Belfast harbour, and the area, alongside Cawoods Coal, and Hugh Craig & Co. would become known locally as the "coal quay".
John Kelly (1840–1904) was an Irish businessperson, philanthropist, shipowner and coal merchant from Belfast, Ireland. He is known for being the owner of John Kelly Coal Company. His son, Sir Samuel Kelly made John Kelly Coal Company a limited company, as John Kelly Limited, thus sticking with John Kelly as the business name. John Kelly is the son of Samuel Kelly, and took over his coal company following his death in 1877.
Donaghadee Lifeboat Station is located at the Parade, in Donaghadee, a harbour town approximately 19 miles (31 km) east of Belfast, on the east coast of County Down, Northern Ireland