Sir James Dombrain R.N. (1794 - 1871)
by Geoffrey Robert D'Ombrain M.Mus. B.Ed.
Sir James was born in Kent. His father Abraham Dombrain was a brewer and wine merchant, who owned a hop garden in Kent. When Abraham died Sir James inherited the hop garden, which probably helped him to continue living in Dublin until his death in 1871. The following newspaper cutting, held in family papers, briefly outlines his career.
Sir James entered the Royal Navy in 1808 and after a successful career, was appointed Deputy Controller and Inspector General of the Coastguard of the United Kingdom and subsequently became Controller and Inspector General of the Coastguard of Ireland, a force which he introduced and organized (1818). Having declined a baronetcy for his services he was knighted in 1843.
Sir James was a plain man who worked for the benefit of others. During the potato famines in Ireland he used the Revenue Cruizers to deliver grain to the starving population. When Coast Guard officers reported to him that people were dying of starvation in the Killeries and Clifden in Connemara and in Ballinakill, County Louth, he authorised the Dispensing Surgeon to issue certificates to starving people for the free provision of grain. He received a very public and severe rebuke from the Treasury in Whitehall for his actions; however, he refused to bow to the pressure arguing that the local people were dying and there was no other course of action open to him. The Irish Poet, Writer and Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney, has honoured this action in his poem For the Captain of the Eliza.
Following his retirement from the Royal Navy in 1848, he turned his attention to establishing much needed lighthouses around the Irish coast and in particular the lighthouse at Galley Head. In 1869 his recommendations for two buoys to mark either Black Ball Ledge or Bar Rocks and a Tidal Light to be exhibited from a window in the lighthouse tower two hours before high water and one hour after were approved.
At their Board meeting on 21 April 1871 Sir James was presented with an Illuminated Address by his fellow Commissioners for his efforts in these regards. I suspect that it must have been just after his retirement as a Commissioner as he died the same year. He had been a Commissioner of Irish Lights from 1867 to 1871. The banner heading at the top of the article is a photograph of the original minutes of the April Board meeting at which the presentation was made.
His youngest son Edward was the only offspring still living in Ireland and he emigrated to Australia in 1877 with his family. He brought many family heirlooms with him and most of these, including the Illuminated Address, are now in my possession to be passed on to future generations. Both Edward and my grandfather Francis were born in Dublin, as was Edward's wife Catherine Fetherstonhaugh.
As a lover of the sea and the restoration and sailing of old wooden sailing boats, I have always found the life of Sir James Dombrain to be an inspiration.
From The Irish Smuggler written by the author.