The Tale of The Windsor Castle

Can you identify this vessel or the story behind this photo?
Limerick Museum

Circa 1840 , a sailing vessel, The Windsor Castle, was dismasted and observed by some pilots from Kilbaha, west of the heads. They made their way to the distressed vessel, found her to be devoid of crew or command and using their skill and tenacity brought her safely to anchor off Kilbaha. These pilots were rewarded for their valiant efforts to salvage The Windsor Castle, in the form of monetary compensation.The salvage of The Windsor Castle, played a significant role in the history of Scattery Island, as some of the pilots involved in this event used their compensation money to lease land on the island from the landlord at the time Francis Keane. Among these pilots were; Scanlan, Brennan, McMahon, Griffin, Melican & Hanrahan. These men and their families continued to live on Scattery for years after this and continued on their maritime tradition as islanders.

Comments about this page

  • Senan Scanlans Book has very interesting family pedigrees outlined which may be of help: Inhabitants of Scattery Island Shannon Estuary County Clare 2007
    Contact: book@scattery.com
    ISBN 978-0-9539743-1-3

    By Eve Brennan (02/06/2021)
  • Hi,
    Just wondering if anybody knows what happened to the Hanrahan family who settled on the island after the Windsor Castle salvage? my 93 year old father who is a Master Mariner has traced his ancestors back to James Hanrahan b. 1780 a pilot from Kilbaha. I have since come to believe that there are 2 and possibly 3 seafaring Hanrahan families who eventually settled in Limerick. They may not have been related, based on DNA analyses.
    Kind regards,
    Des
    Des Hanrahan

    By Des Hanrahan (04/05/2021)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.