Coastguards of Yesteryear - Articles

American Smuggler Caught. 1839

Re the case of Mr.Dillon, late of the Royal Navy, and formerly commanding the Preventive Coast Guard station at Millcove, in the county of cork....

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No 6

June 2008:
The Customs Officers and Coastguards had formidable enemys in many smuggling gangs who made hugh amounts of money running contraband into the country. The Smugglers did manage to coerce, with bribery, some officials to look the other way.

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No2

Feb 2008:
The Coastguard who fought at Trafalgar. An interesting item about a Royal Navy sailors career before he joined the Coastguard service and is now interred in a graveyard at Ballyheigue in Ireland.

Troubled Times

The period of the early 20's has always been euphemistically referred to as "the time of the troubles", a really fitting term. In the country in general, as an aftermath of the Easter Rising there was a vast increase of support for Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers.

Coastguard Wreck Tokens

Tokens were made of bronze and were the size of a pre-decimal penny. They were issued to assistants employed at a Wreck Service so that those who had been engaged by the officer in charge could be identified when claiming for their services.

JSAR Games 2008

Photographs from JSAR 2008. [Joint Search and Rescue Games]
Howth 10/05/08

James Gunning - A Dalkey Man

James Gunning married his seventeen-year-old sweetheart, Ellen Redmond, in St. Michael's church, Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) in February 1865. He was thirty-one years of age. His marriage certificate gave his residence as HMS Nightingale, a 60-hp gunboat attached to HMS Ajax, the Coastguard Flagship at Kingstown Harbour. His Naval service record revealed that he had joined the Royal Navy in February 1854 at the age of 20.

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No1

Jan 2008:
For many, many years The Night of the Big Wind, 1839, remained in the memory of people all over Ireland. It was a sad night for the Coastguard Service in Ireland.

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No 5

May 2008:
Some leases of Coastguard stations on our coasts permitted the men to gather seaweed on the foreshore of the station. Seaweed was an excellant fertiliser and used by the men on their vegetable plots. It is very possible that a small income could also come from the sale of these weeds.

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No 4

April 2008:
Many of the earlier Coastguard stations were well built and many were sited in attractive surroundings. Robert's Cove station had both of these qualities plus later sympathetic extensions as a private dwelling. It is a real gem.

Royal Humane Society Gold and Silver Medals

The Royal Humane Society in addition to Gold and Silver medals also bestowed Awards and Testimonials for gallantry in saving lives.

Here are a number awarded to Coastguard members.

The Coastguard Cutter Vol6 No3

March 2008:
In the early years of the Coastguard the men were sent on retraining exercises yearly to enable them to function as a reserve force for the Navy. On station there were regular sessions of marksmanship with rifles and revolvers.

Portrush Rocket Life Saving Company

Portrush Rocket Life Saving Company, who were volunteers under Coastguard management, used this Wreck Post on Ramore Head for their quarterly practice exercises...

Henry Spears Grinton

The Auchtertool parish records show his birth as follows: �16th August 1822 John Grinton and Rennie Mather had a son born to them and baptized the 25th Sept named Henry Spears�

A Coastguard of Irish Birth

John James Montgomery was my grandfather, born in 1847. A large sepia photograph suggested a huge burly man with a beard ......

Irish born Thomas Selvey in the Coastguard

My ancestor Thomas Selvey, born 1772, came from either Queens County or Queensborough, Ireland. He moved to Portished, Somerset by about 1790. In the 1851 Census his occupation is given as Superannuated Customs Boatman.

Naval Funeral at Wicklow. 1903

On Thursday afternoon the remains of Mr. Wm. Henry Darte, Chief Boatman in charge of Ballinacarrig Coastguard Station, were interred in Three-Mile-Water Cemetary with naval honours.

A Cautionary Tale

Ever not found your ancestor and wondered how he managed to elude the Census, the following could suggest why.

Samuel Humphrey, Career Summary

Samuel Humphrey, Career Summary. (details taken from Service Register downloaded from National Archives)

The Wreck of the Leon XIII 1907

On September 30th 1907 the sail ship Leon XIII had reached the Irish coast just off Loop Head and was about to enter the Shannon Estuary to complete her voyage from America with a cargo of wheat when a great storm blew up along the coast.