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The Jeanie Johnston visits Boston up to August 3. The
recreation of the Jeanie Johnston is one of the most ambitious
maritime
heritage
projects
undertaken
in
Ireland...
 Click any photo to send as an ecard!
The re-born 19th century sailing ship – a replica
of one of the last of its kind before the steam ship era
dawned – was built at Blennerville, near Tralee,
Co. Kerry.
Building the remarkable wooden tall ship involved a massive
and complex undertaking, which began with in-depth research
in 1993 and culminated in the completion of the graceful,
triple-masted vessel in 2002.
The project team had to produce a seaworthy ship (the
Jeanie Johnston sets sail for North America in mid-February
2003 to retrace the historic transatlantic voyages it made
150 years earlier) while also offering an interesting living
history visitor experience.
An international team of young people, linking Ireland
North and South, the US, Canada, and many other countries
built the replica under the supervision of experienced
shipwrights through FÁS, the Irish Training & Employment
Agency.
The Jeanie Johnston Project is supported by the Irish
Government, European Union, state agencies, local authorities,
corporate institutions, local businesses, private donations
raised in Ireland and from the friends of Ireland in the
US, Canada and around the world including The American
Ireland Fund
| Photo Index
1 The figurehead -the carving was placed in the bow
so that its eyes could find the way and guide the
ship.
2 The resident parrot!
3 The main mast as it passes through the deck.
4 Looking down the starboard side of the ship. Note
the huge Irish flag suspended in the arch of the
hotel.
5 While families were kept together, where possible,
and separate bunks were generally arranged for single
men and women, the laws of the time did not even
stipulate the segregation of the sexes.
6-7 The ship in harbour.
8 Visitors in the ships interior.
9 The old and the new! |
Stark choice… emigrate
or starve
When disease hit the potato crop – the staple diet
of the Irish people – during consecutive seasons from
1845 to 1848, disaster struck. Every family in the country
was touched in one way or another.
For many people, it came down to a stark choice between
risking the fearful transatlantic voyage on an emigrant
ship or remaining in Ireland to starve.
This is where the famed Jeanie Johnston entered the picture
to dramatic effect. A square-sterned, three-masted barque,
constructed of Quebec oak and pine, the 408 tonne ship
was built in Quebec, Canada by noted Scottish-born shipbuilder,
John Munn in 1847.
A year later, the prominent Tralee, Co. Kerry hardware
merchant, Nicholas Donovan, purchased the ship in Liverpool
and originally intended to use it on the North Atlantic
route as a cargo vessel.
New beginning for over 2,500 people
The dire circumstances of the starving Irish soon altered
his plans and the ship made its maiden voyage to Quebec
on April 24, 1848, with 193 emigrants on board who were
searching for a new life as the effects of the Famine
ravaged the land.
Over the next seven years, the sturdy wooden sailing vessel
made 16 heroic voyages in all to North America, sailing
to Quebec, Baltimore and New York. From 1848 – 1855,
the ship carried over 2,500 Irish people across the Atlantic
on the first step in a brave new adventure.
In the process, the Jeanie Johnston accomplished a remarkable
feat. Under the direction of its kind-hearted owner, Nicholas
Donovan, its caring captain, Captain James Attridge and
a highly experienced resident medical doctor, Dr. Richard
Blennerhassett, no lives were lost on board.
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