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The John Tayleur measured 250 x40 x 21
feet. She weighed 1,977 tons, and she was the largest sailing ship of her time.
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She had 4 decks, and was built by the
Bank Quay Foundry in Warrington in 1853 at a cost of £34,000.
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The John Tayleur sank on .
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An enquiry into the sinking was held in
the Grand Hotel in Malahide and it lasted 3 days. The entire crew consisted of 71 people. This included
cooks, stewards, apprentices and seamen. There were 26 able seamen and 11
ordinary seamen. 12 of the able seamen were foreigners, but it was said that
only 2 of them could not speak English.
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282 people were saved. Of these, 279
were men. The late Patrick O’ Neill argued that this figure gives its own
message with regard to the self-sacrifice and efforts of the men to save women
and children.
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Nearly 300 people were drowned.
Many of the bodies were recovered and about 100 are buried on Lambay.
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The wreck of the John Tayleur was
discovered on19 July 1959
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Some items from the ship have been
brought to shore. There is an anchor in Rush and an anchor in Portrane. The
ship’s bell is in the Civic Museum in Dublin. It has
been said that there was gold on the ship, but this has never been found.
