We have have already seen something of the development of Kilkee up to about 1840. During this period, as the town grew in importance, a coastguard station was established there -- having its boathouse in what is now the West End Stores. The large slipway at this point in the seawall was built for the coastguards' boat. Later, in the 1860s, a new large coastguard station (later destroyed in the Civil War, 1922) was built overlooking the town on the east side and the present boathouse was built to house the boats. Another reminder of the coastguards is the name Lookout Cliff (highest point of cliff walk from West End) - so called because when the coastguards were based on this side of the town they went there each day to scan the sea from the highest point in the area.
Under Lookout Cliff is Intrinsic Bay, so caled after the Intrinsic from Liverpool, which was wrecked under the high cliffs with the loss of 14 lives in January, 1836. Its cargo of iron and steel was later recovered in what must have been one of the first deepsea diving salvage operations off the Irish coast. And within the last few years its anchor was located and brought ashore at Kikee by local man, Emmanuel di Lucia, assisted by other skin divers. In November, 1850, there was a far worse disaster when the emigrant ship Edmond, bound from Limerick to Quebec, was blown into Kilkee Bay and broke in two on the rocks at the place now called after it, Edmond Point. Nearly one hundred were drowned on that terrible night and on the following morning the strand was littered with bodies.
|
