Kinsale Lecture to Explore the Lives and Legacy of the Town’s Merchant Seamen
Kinsale Cultural and Heritage Society will host a special lecture in the Temperance Hall, Kinsale, on Wednesday, May 27th at 8pm, presented by Carol Farley O’Connor and Terry Connolly.
As Kinsale’s fishing industry declined in the early 20th century, economic hardship drove many young people to seek work overseas. A significant proportion of those who left went on to serve in the Merchant Navy.
The Merchant Navy was the engine of global trade, linking continents, carrying vital cargo, and sustaining everyday life. However, when war came, these same civilian ships and crews found themselves on the front line, facing dangers for which no merchant seaman had ever been trained. Their story is one of industry, endurance, and extraordinary courage.
Terry Connolly will present his research on Kinsale’s seafarers of this era, followed by a slideshow assembled by Carol Farley O’Connor and Matthew Thomson. The presentation provides a visual record of five merchant seamen who spoke with Terry in the 1980s, recounting their experiences at sea.
The event will also include a section honouring a number of Kinsale seamen lost during the Second World War and will conclude with a reflection on the final generation of the town’s Merchant Seamen.
The organisers expressed their thanks to the families and friends of Kinsale’s seafarers for generously sharing their memories and photographs.
Some of the Kinsale sailors whose story is going to be told in the upcoming lecture with Kinsale Cultural and Heritage Society, included in the picture are Michael O’Driscoll Driscoll, John Hurley, William O’Connell (Bill King) front Charlie and Dick O’Driscoll
