Letters
Scorched Legs and a Rolling Boil
On reading Reggie Hamilton's article on Mew Island I was reminded of the four years I spent there during the war. At lighthouses and lightvessels in Northern Ireland a signal to extinguish the light was given when German bombers were on their way.
I was sent to Mew Island with another seaman to keep a searchlight watch. This meant sitting on a chair looking out a window for four hours at a time. The signal was the letter B in Morse Code to put out the light, and the letter O to put the light on again. It was a very cold job. A Valor stove was provided and everyone who was on the searchlight watch had the legs of their pants scorched. The Mew was a very handy station. A weekly relief and never overdue.
I was surprised to see the picture of the Skulmartin, one of the old-timers. They used to say that the lightvessels would roll on wet grass. Life on the lightvessels was much harder than on lighthouses. Lightshipmen had no privacy whatsoever. You had to cook, eat, and sleep in the forecastle. There were seven hammocks slung across, and a big table around which the hands had their meals and worked at their hobbies - making mats, brushes, ships in bottles, and wool rugs.
I think the cook's job was the worst. In bad weather when the vessel was rolling badly, it was very hard to keep water in the pots, and one would hardly see the cook for steam and water round his feet. On bad days it was safer to sit on the deck to have one's dinner.
Then there were the times when the relief was overdue and the coal would run out. We would have to rig the blowlamp in the engine room to boil a kettle, and all hands would be ready to wet their tea.
We seemed to be often overdue, and it was not always the weather. The old Ierne used to do the reliefs, but sometimes she would be sent to Irvine in Scotland for tonite (gun powder for explosive fog signals).
There was a ditty about her. I cannot remember it all, but it went something like this
There is a neat little steamer Ierne by name, The way she is treated is a damn shame, She is sent to Irvine for power and oil as well, And the reliefs of the lightvessels may all go to hell.
Of course in later years the reliefs were carried out better when there was a change of captains in the Tenders!
There are a lot more stories fit for a better pen than mine.
Mick English
Veteran of 1 Tender, 3 lightvessels,
7 lighthouses, and spare lightvessels.
Key of the Ship
At eighteen years of age my son seemed very young to have his first year as a Nautical Science Cadet at Cork Regional Technical College behind him.
With his first year finished came the question of which shipping company would Andrew be placed with to start his twenty months' practical work experience at sea. A short somewhat nervous wait came to an end when the College phoned to say Andrew had been placed with the Irish Lights Tender Granuaile.
Andrew had to join Granuaile in Kerry, at Valentia Island. My first feelings were excitement that a whole new way of life opening up for my son. It would mean travel, new experience, a definite opportunity to develop his personality and independence.
Andrew was on board Granuaile for over twelve weeks in which time he sailed the Irish coast many times over, was on several of our lighthouse stations and visited some of our lightfloats. He was the only cadet on board and was looked after extremely well by the whole crew. The joke was that he was everybody's son.
As Andrew's mother I never for one moment worried about him not liking his life at sea. He loved every minute of it, and gained a wealth of knowledge about seamanship during his time on board. We visited Granuaile a couple of times when it called to Dun Laoghaire and at each visit it was clear that he was happy and content.
Andrew is now back at College a couple of weeks and already the training he received has paid off very well. When it came to exams on seamanship he passed wellthanks, he said, to what he had learned while on the Granuaile. I am proud of the life he has chosen.
To the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the officers and crew of the Granuaile for offering and giving the opportunity of learning to my son, my family and myself are grateful indeed.
Carolyn Lane
Dad's Navy
When Margaret, our youngest daughter, first mentioned that she wanted to go to College and do navigational studies we said fine, until we discovered what it entailed. However, she was young then and we thought, because she was only fourteen or fifteen years of age, that she would change her mind.
We are living in Donaskeigh, County Tipperary, an inland village, so she had very little to do with water or boats except to go swimming. We thought it was a passing phase.
Time passed but her mind did not change and eventually at twenty-one years of age she went to Cork Regional Technical College; then the time came for her to go to sea. That's when we really knew she was going to continue with this career.
Margaret was then assigned to her first ship which was ilt Granuaile. At the time she started her training we were most anxious about her because she was a lone girl among approximately twenty five men. It transpired however that these were twenty five gentlemen or, as she said herself at the time, twenty five new dads.
After some weeks she had time off duty and came home for a visit, and when we drove her back to the ship we were delighted to see at first hand that it was for her 'home from home'. We were welcomed on board Granuaile and introduced to almost everyone on board. We were shown over the ship and invited to stay for lunch, which we enjoyed very much. It took away all our doubts and worries.
On our tour of the ship the work undertaken by the vessel and crew was explained to us in some detail. Even though the work was sometimes hard, with an element of danger attached, we felt that the captain, officers and crew were a very capable and efficient team. They approached their work in a most professional and safety conscious manner.
Being 'land lubbers' we had no idea what Irish Lights was about, until it was explained to us and we also did some research ourselves. It was only then that we fully realised the importance of Irish Lights for the safety of all shipping.
We are now proud that our daughter has embarked on this very worthwhile career and sincerely thank Irish Lights for affording her the opportunity.
Michael and Joan Gallagher
Cook's Method
While serving aboard the old Granuaile as Cook, we were in Dun Laoghaire Harbour prior to sailing on the annual inspection trip with the Commissioners. I received word from the Chief Steward that Mr Martin, the Engineer-in-Chief, wished to have his food grilled.
The galley had only a big black stove coal burner and the very basic of kitchen equipment.
I spent a sleepless night thinking of how I was going to overcome this problem. Next morning I fried Mr Martin's breakfast and then used a red hot poker to put marks on the food. Then I put the food on grease-proof paper to extract the fat from it.
Some years later the ship was going out of commission and the Commissioners and Officials were at the South Wall to say goodbye to her, when Mr D. Martin asked me where was the grill that I used for him. You can imagine my surprise when he mentioned it. I informed him that all I had was a red hot poker.
I often have a good laugh when I think of it. I hope you find it amusing.
I find Beam very enlightening and look forward to it every year. Keep up the good work.
D. M. Jenkins
Retired Steward and Cook,
ex Granuaile, Granuaile II, Atlanta,
Isolda, Ierne, Alexandra, and Valonia.
On reading Reggie Hamilton's article on Mew Island I was reminded of the four years I spent there during the war. At lighthouses and lightvessels in Northern Ireland a signal to extinguish the light was given when German bombers were on their way.
I was sent to Mew Island with another seaman to keep a searchlight watch. This meant sitting on a chair looking out a window for four hours at a time. The signal was the letter B in Morse Code to put out the light, and the letter O to put the light on again. It was a very cold job. A Valor stove was provided and everyone who was on the searchlight watch had the legs of their pants scorched. The Mew was a very handy station. A weekly relief and never overdue.
I was surprised to see the picture of the Skulmartin, one of the old-timers. They used to say that the lightvessels would roll on wet grass. Life on the lightvessels was much harder than on lighthouses. Lightshipmen had no privacy whatsoever. You had to cook, eat, and sleep in the forecastle. There were seven hammocks slung across, and a big table around which the hands had their meals and worked at their hobbies - making mats, brushes, ships in bottles, and wool rugs.
I think the cook's job was the worst. In bad weather when the vessel was rolling badly, it was very hard to keep water in the pots, and one would hardly see the cook for steam and water round his feet. On bad days it was safer to sit on the deck to have one's dinner.
Then there were the times when the relief was overdue and the coal would run out. We would have to rig the blowlamp in the engine room to boil a kettle, and all hands would be ready to wet their tea.
We seemed to be often overdue, and it was not always the weather. The old Ierne used to do the reliefs, but sometimes she would be sent to Irvine in Scotland for tonite (gun powder for explosive fog signals).
There was a ditty about her. I cannot remember it all, but it went something like this
There is a neat little steamer Ierne by name, The way she is treated is a damn shame, She is sent to Irvine for power and oil as well, And the reliefs of the lightvessels may all go to hell.
Of course in later years the reliefs were carried out better when there was a change of captains in the Tenders!
There are a lot more stories fit for a better pen than mine.
Mick English
Veteran of 1 Tender, 3 lightvessels,
7 lighthouses, and spare lightvessels.
Key of the Ship
At eighteen years of age my son seemed very young to have his first year as a Nautical Science Cadet at Cork Regional Technical College behind him.
With his first year finished came the question of which shipping company would Andrew be placed with to start his twenty months' practical work experience at sea. A short somewhat nervous wait came to an end when the College phoned to say Andrew had been placed with the Irish Lights Tender Granuaile.
Andrew had to join Granuaile in Kerry, at Valentia Island. My first feelings were excitement that a whole new way of life opening up for my son. It would mean travel, new experience, a definite opportunity to develop his personality and independence.
Andrew was on board Granuaile for over twelve weeks in which time he sailed the Irish coast many times over, was on several of our lighthouse stations and visited some of our lightfloats. He was the only cadet on board and was looked after extremely well by the whole crew. The joke was that he was everybody's son.
As Andrew's mother I never for one moment worried about him not liking his life at sea. He loved every minute of it, and gained a wealth of knowledge about seamanship during his time on board. We visited Granuaile a couple of times when it called to Dun Laoghaire and at each visit it was clear that he was happy and content.
Andrew is now back at College a couple of weeks and already the training he received has paid off very well. When it came to exams on seamanship he passed wellthanks, he said, to what he had learned while on the Granuaile. I am proud of the life he has chosen.
To the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the officers and crew of the Granuaile for offering and giving the opportunity of learning to my son, my family and myself are grateful indeed.
Carolyn Lane
Dad's Navy
When Margaret, our youngest daughter, first mentioned that she wanted to go to College and do navigational studies we said fine, until we discovered what it entailed. However, she was young then and we thought, because she was only fourteen or fifteen years of age, that she would change her mind.
We are living in Donaskeigh, County Tipperary, an inland village, so she had very little to do with water or boats except to go swimming. We thought it was a passing phase.
Time passed but her mind did not change and eventually at twenty-one years of age she went to Cork Regional Technical College; then the time came for her to go to sea. That's when we really knew she was going to continue with this career.
Margaret was then assigned to her first ship which was ilt Granuaile. At the time she started her training we were most anxious about her because she was a lone girl among approximately twenty five men. It transpired however that these were twenty five gentlemen or, as she said herself at the time, twenty five new dads.
After some weeks she had time off duty and came home for a visit, and when we drove her back to the ship we were delighted to see at first hand that it was for her 'home from home'. We were welcomed on board Granuaile and introduced to almost everyone on board. We were shown over the ship and invited to stay for lunch, which we enjoyed very much. It took away all our doubts and worries.
On our tour of the ship the work undertaken by the vessel and crew was explained to us in some detail. Even though the work was sometimes hard, with an element of danger attached, we felt that the captain, officers and crew were a very capable and efficient team. They approached their work in a most professional and safety conscious manner.
Being 'land lubbers' we had no idea what Irish Lights was about, until it was explained to us and we also did some research ourselves. It was only then that we fully realised the importance of Irish Lights for the safety of all shipping.
We are now proud that our daughter has embarked on this very worthwhile career and sincerely thank Irish Lights for affording her the opportunity.
Michael and Joan Gallagher
Cook's Method
While serving aboard the old Granuaile as Cook, we were in Dun Laoghaire Harbour prior to sailing on the annual inspection trip with the Commissioners. I received word from the Chief Steward that Mr Martin, the Engineer-in-Chief, wished to have his food grilled.
The galley had only a big black stove coal burner and the very basic of kitchen equipment.
I spent a sleepless night thinking of how I was going to overcome this problem. Next morning I fried Mr Martin's breakfast and then used a red hot poker to put marks on the food. Then I put the food on grease-proof paper to extract the fat from it.
Some years later the ship was going out of commission and the Commissioners and Officials were at the South Wall to say goodbye to her, when Mr D. Martin asked me where was the grill that I used for him. You can imagine my surprise when he mentioned it. I informed him that all I had was a red hot poker.
I often have a good laugh when I think of it. I hope you find it amusing.
I find Beam very enlightening and look forward to it every year. Keep up the good work.
D. M. Jenkins
Retired Steward and Cook,
ex Granuaile, Granuaile II, Atlanta,
Isolda, Ierne, Alexandra, and Valonia.