The Sinking of the Rochdale and the Prince of Wales

The Rochdale and the Prince of Wales were two troop ships that sank in Dublin Bay in 1807.

Dublin Port had long been dangerous because it was accessible only at high tide and was subject to sudden storms. Many ships were lost while waiting for the tide, but little was done until this disaster. The impact of 400 bodies being washed up on an urban shore had an effect on public and official opinion. This event was the impetus to the building of Dún Laoghaire Harbour.

On 19 November 1807 several ships left Dublin carrying troops bound for the Napoleonic war. The next day, two ships, the brig Rochdale and H.M. Packet ship Prince of Wales, having been caught in gale-force winds and heavy snow, were lost. Troops on Prince of Wales may have been deliberately locked below deck while the ship's captain and crew escaped. No lifeboat was launched. There was looting.

This tragedy was the impetus to the building of Dún Laoghaire Harbour, which was initially called "Dunleary", then "Kingstown", and now "Dún Laoghaire". Dublin port was hampered by a sandbar, which meant that ships could enter or leave only at high tide. A solution, the building of the North Bull Wall, had been identified by Vice-Admiral William Bligh in 1800. If there was a storm, a ship would have to ride out the storm in the open sea, waiting for the tide.

"The bay of Dublin has perhaps been more fatal to seamen and ships than any in the world, for a ship once caught in it in a gale of wind from ENE to SSE must ride it out at anchors or go on shore, and from the nature of that shore the whole of the crews almost invariably have perished." – Captain Charles Malcolm of George IV's royal yacht.

A pier had been built at Dún Laoghaire, now known as the "coal harbour", in 1767, but it had rapidly silted up. The early nineteenth century was unusually stormy. Dublin Bay was notoriously treacherous for boats. The remains of at least 600 vessels rest at the bottom of the bay.

On 19 November 1807, the sea began to swell. Wind speed increased to hurricane force. Sleet and snow fell to such intensity that visibility was reduced to zero; they may not have realised how close they were to shore. The east wind blew the ships back towards the shore.

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Wikipedia