Flag of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company

The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select committee of the House of Lords in 1922 and finally liquidated in 1930. The company operated from offices at Eden House, 15-18 Eden Quay which were constructed in 1829.

History

The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company began in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 1822 as Charles Wye Williams & Company; Williams is one of the unrecognised pioneers of steam navigation. His company initially operated steam ships between Dublin and

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 populat ...

. In 1826, the line added service to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. Later, service was also provided between

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and Belfast. Transatlantic service to New York started with the ''Royal William'' departing Liverpool on 5 July 1838, becoming the first steamer to depart for an

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

crossing from the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. In January, 1839, they were awarded a contract to provide a night mail service from Holyhead; their ships docked at the Admiralty Pier in Holyhead. In 1843, the company took over the routes of the St. George Steam Packet Company, extending service to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The Company also operated smaller steamers on the River Shannon. Up until 1850, the British Admiralty carried the Royal Mail, but in that year, contracts were awarded for the first time to private companies. Ships carrying mail on these contracts were authorized to use the designation RMS or

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

. The most valuable route, with the highest volume, was between Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and Holyhead in Wales. The line won the contract and purchased RMS ''Saint Columba'' and RMS ''Llwywllyn'' from the Admiralty. In 1859, the line ordered four additional steamers, named for four provinces of Ireland, the RMS ''Connaught'', RMS ''Leinster'', RMS ''Munster'' and RMS ''Ulster''; these four were commonly referred to as "The Provinces". In 1897, the line was awarded an additional 21 years for their contract with the Post Office, the CofDSPCo ordered four identical ships from Cammell Lairds of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

to replace "The Provinces"; these carried the same names as the former ships. These were twin-propeller vessels powered by an eight-cylinder steam engine, capable of 24 knots. Leinster90

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the company lost two steamers sunk by the Germans, the worst of which was the second ''Leinster'' which was lost with over 500 lives in 30 metres of water just North East of the Kish Light, the greatest single-incident loss of life in the Irish Sea. (The official death toll was 501. Research by Roy Stokes, author of ''Death in the Irish Sea: The Sinking of RMS Leinster'' and Philip Lecane, author of ''Torpedoed! The RMS Leinster Disaster'' suggest that the number lost was somewhat higher.) The Company was not able to financially recover from this loss. Afterwards, the remaining fleet were taken over by the British & Irish Steam Packet Company. The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was finally liquidated in 1924.

Ships operated by the line

*''Albert'' 1845 *''Athlone'' 1836 (in 1849,

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

sailed to Dublin from London on the ''Athlone''. He gives a lengthy description of his three-day sail from London to Dublin Harbour. The ''Athlone'' stopped at Greenwich; Gravesend; Broadstairs; Ramsgate; Deal; Dover' Plymouth and Falmouth before heading out to Ireland. Carlyle. '' Reminiscences of My Irish Journey in 1849'', 1882, pp. 7-37. *''Ballinasloe'' 1829 *''Banshee'' 1848 *''Belfast'' 1884 *''Britannia'' 1825 *''Carlow'' 1896 *''Cavan'' 1876 *''City of Dublin'' 1824 *''City of Londonderry'' 1824 *''Commerce'' 1825 *''Connaught'' (1) 1860 * RMS ''Connaught'' (2) 1897 (torpedoed and sunk en route

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, 1917) *''Cork'' 1899 (torpedoed and sunk off Point Lynas, 1918) *''Diamond'' 1846 *''Duchess of Kent'' 1837 *''Duke of Cambridge'' 1837 *''Eblana'' 1849 *''Emerald'' 1846 *''Galway'' 1891 *''Gipsy'' 1828 *''Hibernia'' 1824 *''Ireland'' 1885 *''Iron Duke'' 1844 *''Kerry'' 1897 *''Kildare'' 1867 * ''Kilkenny'' 1903 *''Leeds'' 1826 *''Leinster'' (1) 1860 * RMS ''Leinster'' (2) 1897 (torpedoed and sunk off Kingstown, 1918; over 500 lives lost out of 771 onboard) *''Leitrim'' 1874 *''Liffey'' 1824 *''Liverpool'' 1846 *RMS ''Llewellyn'' 1848 *''Longford'' 1870 *''Louth'' 1894 *''Manchester'' 1826 *''Mayo'' 1880 *''Meath'' 1884 *''Mersey'' 1824 *''Mona'' (1) 1825 *''Mona'' (2) 1832 *''Mullingar'' 1868 *''Munster'' (1) 1860 *''Munster'' (2) 1896 *''Nottingham'' 1827 *''Pearl'' 1845 *''Prince Arthur'' 1851 *''Princess'' 1839 * ''Queen Victoria'' 1838 (wrecked near Howth Head in snowstorm, 15 February 1853; 80 lives lost) *''Roscommon'' 1845 * ''Royal Adelaide'' 1838 (wrecked at Tongue Sands off

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

, 1849; 250 lives lost) *''Royal William'' 1837 *''Shamrock'' 1824 *''Sheffield'' 1827 *RMS ''St. Columba'' 1848 *''St. Patrick'' (see Llewellyn) * ''Thames'' 1827 *''Town of Liverpool'' 1824 *''Trafalgar'' 1848 *''Ulster'' (1) 1860 *''Ulster'' (2) 1896 * 1895 *''Windsor'' 1846

References

{{Reflist * Freda Harcourt, "Charles Wye William & Irish Steam Shipping", The Journal of Transport History, Vol. 13, No 2, Sept.1992.
Info on The Ships ListSealink-Holyhead.com

External links

Ship Trafalgar Collection (#1063), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Shipping companies of Ireland Packet (sea transport) Dublin Docklands

History

Ships operated by the line

See also

References

External links