An Cosantóir

28 | A CURIOUS JOURNEY ON THE HIGH SEAS by Paul O'Brien & Gareth Murray Photos National Museum of Ireland, Collins Bks & © Paul Sherwood (www.sherwood.ie) I rish involvement in naval history is abundant. From polar exploration to the development of the submarine, to merchant shipping, Irish men and women have been to the forefront of naval developments. Ireland's struggle for independence has a unique marine element, as many of the weapons used were smuggled into the country aboard ships. In July 1914, Erskine Childers landed 900 German-made Mauser rifles from his yacht, Asgard, in Howth, County Dublin. When the Home Rule bill passed its final reading in the House of Commons in 1912 it led many to believe that Home Rule for Ireland was soon to be on the statute books. The Protestant population of Ireland constituted a local majority in north-east Ireland and they, believing that their economic prosperity arose from the union with Britain and fearing domination in an Irish Catholic parliament, prepared to oppose Home Rule. Ulster Unionists armed themselves in preparation to defend that union. Since the Ulster Volunteer Force had managed to smuggle in thousands of weapons and ammunition at Larne, Irish republicans sought to arm themselves in case civil war erupted in Ireland. The plan to smuggle arms into Ireland was to be one of the most daring feats ever undertaken by the Irish Volunteers as it would have to be done under the watchful eyes of the largest naval force in the world, the British Royal Navy. On May 28th 1914, Darrell Figgis and Erskine Childers travelled to Hamburg where they negotiated the purchase of 1,500 Mauser rifles and 49,000 rounds of ammunition from the Moritz Arms Company. (Childers, an Anglo-Irish republican who had served in the British army, was also an accomplished author, having written The Riddle of the Sands in 1903, a novel that predicted war with Germany.) Childers planned to use his yacht, Asgard, to smug- An Cosantóir July/August 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie gle the weapons into Ireland. While the Asgard would take the majority of the consignment, another yacht, the Kelpie, skippered by Conor O'Brien, would take the remainder. Launched in 1905, the Asgard was not a typically designed yacht. Purpose built, she had a large, double frame and was sturdily constructed. She measured 15.5 metres in length from stem to transom with a beam of four metres. The vessel was carvel-built, which means that the hull planks are fitted edge to edge and then fixed to the frame, giving a smooth, sturdy surface. Apart from Erskine Childers, the Asgard was crewed by Molly Childers, Mary Spring Rice, Gordon Strachey Shepard and two fishermen from Gola Island in County Donegal, Patrick McGinley and Charles Duggan. Despite encountering bad weather on the outward trip, the Asgard made the rendezvous with Figgis and the German tugboat Gladiator at the Rotigen lightship at the mouth of the Scheldt River off the Belgian coast. After five hours of strenuous work, the arms were transferred from the tug to the yacht, with every available space on the yacht being filled with weapons and ammunition. The ship then set sail for its destination, Howth Harbour. Avoiding British patrols on the high seas and navigating the difficult waters of the English Channel, the yacht sailed unhindered into the Irish Sea. After a total of 23 days at sea in which the ship weathered one of the worst storms recorded on the Irish Sea since 1882, the yacht came within sight of the harbour. On the morning of Sunday July 26th 1914, 800 members of the Irish Volunteers and members of Fianna Èireann met the ship as it docked on the East Pier. The ship's cargo was unloaded within 45 minutes and stacked into an array of vehicles, ready for transportation to a number of arms dumps throughout the city. The remainder of the arms shipment from the Kelpie was transferred onto the Chotah, a steam-yacht, near the Welsh coast. They were then brought to Kilcoole in County Wicklow where the arms were successfully landed on Saturday August 1st. The mission was an astounding success, with the Republicans managing to evade the might of the British Navy and land a huge consignment of arms and ammunition in the country.

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