‘Larkin’s food ship’ sinks off Irish coast – six Dubliners among dead
Manchester, 5 January 1918 - The SS Hare, a British merchant ship, known to many as ‘Larkin’s food ship’, has sunk while en route from Manchester to Dublin.
11 lives were lost in the disaster. Among the dead were Dubliners with addresses in Summer Hill, Dalkey, Erne Terrace, Pigeon House Road and Hanover Square.
One of the victims, Mrs Arland, a stewardess on the boat with an address at Seville Place, was a widow who leaves behind her four young children.
Survivors
A steamer passing the vicinity of the disaster shortly after heard
calls from the water and, despite the dark and dangers, picked up
one of the Hare’s lifeboats which contained six of
the crew.
In all there were 11 survivors, a number of them, it is believed, saved by clinging to the large and empty Jacob’s biscuit skips which had been on deck.
Among the survivors was Christopher Tallant of Leslie Avenue in Dalkey who told reporters that he had been knocked to his ‘senses’ before the ship went down.
On coming to, he saw the starboard boat smashed to smithereens and the port boat capsized. ‘I then rushed aft, and sat in a boat there until they floated her.’ Along with two others, he said they ‘pulled the bullock-man, John Ford, out of the water. The sea was a bit choppy, and there was a bit of a breeze from the west.’
Larkin’s Food Ship
It is a tragic end for a vessel that will be fondly remembered by
some of Dublin’s poorest citizens.
In September 1913, the SS Hare arrived into the South
Wall in Dublin
carrying food parcels, butter, bread, tea, jam, fish and other
necessities for distribution among the families of striking
workers in Dublin. The cargo and the ship had been funded by
monies contributed by the British Trade Unions.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
