According to the Irish Times of 11 February 2017
Margaret Gaffney was born on Christmas Day 1813, in Tully, Co Leitrim. Five years later, faced with extreme poverty and religious persecution, her parents and the three youngest of their six children, including Margaret, boarded a steamer bound for Boston.
Eoin Butler, the author of the article, provides no details of the vessel, but I hope he will: up to now folk have believed that an American vessel called the Savannah was the first to use steam on any part of the Atlantic crossing, and that was in 1819, the year after Margaret Gaffney’s crossing.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Historical matters, Ireland, Operations, Passenger traffic, Sea, Steamers
Tagged 1819, Atlantic, Savannah, steamer, steamship
The SS John Randolph, described as “America’s first successful iron ship in commerce”, is commemorated by a historical marker in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
The John Randolph was one of the first six iron vessels built by Lairds of Birkenhead (later merged into Cammell Laird). The other five were built for use on the River Shannon.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Birkenhead, boats, Charles Wye Williams, Clare, Dublin, estuary, Fergus, Garryowen, Georgia, Grand Canal, Ireland, iron, John Randolph, Killaloe, Lady Lansdowne, Laird, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, Operations, Savannah, Shannon, steam, tug, vessels, waterways