PS ''Nimrod'' was an Irish

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

-carrying

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

. Built in 1843, it took passengers from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in the south of Ireland to the ports of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the first leg for

emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

wishing to start a new life in the United States. It operated for 17 years, until it

ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...

St David's Head St David's Head ( cy, Penmaen Dewi) is a headland in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, southwest Wales, which marks the divide between the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea. It is noted for its wildflowers and wildlife, and for the remains of ...

in 1860. It smashed into three pieces and sank, with the loss of 45 lives.

History

The PS ''Nimrod'' was a paddle steamer built by Vernon T. & Sons, in

in 1843. Owned by the Cork Steamship Co., its main use was to ferry passengers from

, Ireland to the ports of Liverpool, where they would take a passenger ship to the United States. An iron built steamer, ''Nimrod'' had a gross register tonnage of 582 tons and was rigged with sails in the event of engine problems. On 27 February 1860, under the command of captain Lyall, ''Nimrod'' was making the journey from Liverpool to Cork. Carrying passengers and some general goods to the sum of £7,000 it experienced a problem with its engines roughly 15 miles from

Smalls Lighthouse Smalls Lighthouse stands on the largest of a group of wave-washed basalt and dolerite rocks known as The Smalls approximately west of Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and west of Grassholm. It was erected in 1861 by engineer Jam ...

. After failing to negotiate the price of being towed by the Cork to Milford ferry, ''City of Paris'', the captain made the decision to set sail for the deep ports of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

in the south of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. En route the weather worsened and what started as a moderate breeze became a gale-force storm. ''Nimrod'' was observed in the morning of 28 February, with sails now tattered, off the

, being driven to the cliffs. The captain ordered both her anchors to be lowered which at first appeared to save the ship, but both anchor chains broke and the ship was dashed onto the cliffs. Would be rescuers on the rocks attempted to cast ropes to the ship, and the crew attempted to cast ropes ashore, but all attempts failed. The ship eventually broke up and sank. All 25 crew and 20 passengers died in the accident. Of note among the dead was Sir John Judkin-FitzGerald 2nd Bt of the Judkin-FitzGerald baronets of Lisheen, Co Tipperary.

Wreck

The wreck of ''Nimrod'' is located in three sections in the Porth Llong Cove off St David's Head. Lying in of water, the ship broke into stern, bow and engine. In 1999 divers recovered items from the wreck, including cutlery and glassware.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimrod Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in February 1860 Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea 1843 ships Ships built on the River Mersey Shipwrecks of Wales Ships lost with all hands Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom