Just outside the Cork town of Passage West sits a piece of a ship that once made world history. The long piece of metal was the paddle shaft of the SS Sirius, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to North America under continual steam power. On April 4th, 1838, the Sirius left Passage West under command of local man Lieut Richard Roberts RN. The vessel was cheered on by thousands of well-wishers as she made her way out of Cork harbour.
When the Sirius reached New York 18 days, four hours and 22 minutes later, the captain and crew of 38 were feted like returning champions. By linking the Old World with the New World in this way, the Sirius captured the public imagination on both continents. American newspapers were enthralled by the ship and her accomplishment. The Herald carried the following headline, "The Sirius, The Sirius, The Sirius". "Nothing is talked of in New York but about this Sirius", read the article. "Every merchant in New York went on board her yesterday", continued the newspaper.
The mayor of New York and representatives of the US army and navy all paid courtesy visits to the ship. In recognition of his achievement, the captain was awarded the freedom of New York City. Both Cork and London also awarded him the freedom of their cities.
The Sirius was built for the St George Steam Packet Company by Robert Menzies and Son in Leith, Scotland, at a cost of £27,000. Constructed of wood, the side-wheel steamship measured 178 feet and four inches long. The hold measured 18 feet three inches in depth and she had a gross tonnage of 703 tons. The two-cylinder steam engine drove two paddle wheels that delivered 380 horsepower and gave a maximum speed of 12 knots.
In the early 1800s, shipbuilding technologies were advancing at a steady pace. There was an unofficial competition among shipping companies to see who would be the first to travel all the way from Europe to the New World using steam power alone. The winner would forever be known as the one who established the transatlantic route.
It would seem, though, that it was by pure chance that the Sirius was the one to win this accolade. The Sirius was only ever intended to be a coastal steamer, transporting cargo and passengers on the Cork-London route. When another larger steamer, the British Queen, was not ready in time, the Sirius was chartered by the British and American Steam Navigation Company to travel to New York in April 1838.
On this trip, the Sirius carried 40 passengers, 450 tons of coal, 20 tons of water and cargo, including casks of Beamish and Crawford Export Stout.
Just hours after the arrival of the Sirius, the Great Western reached New York. This iron-hulled steamship, designed by the celebrated English engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, did not receive anything like the welcome afforded to the Sirius.
The Sirius made a further trip across the Atlantic in June 1838, but then resumed serving routes between Ireland and the UK. Tragedy struck in 1847 when the Sirius hit a reef in dense fog and was wrecked in Ballycotton Bay. On January 16th, 1847, the Sirius was travelling from Glasgow to Cork via Dublin with 90 crew and passengers on board. Many of those were rescued, but 20 lives were lost in the heavy seas. She was carrying casks of Guinness, and it is said that locals were pillaging the casks.
A detachment of 200 Marines from Cobh were sent to protect the wreck and her cargo.
The story of the Atlantic crossing later inspired a Hollywood movie. In 1939, Paramount Studios released Rulers of the Sea. It was based on the story of the Sirius and starred Margaret Lockwood and Douglas Fairbanks jnr. They built a replica of the Sirius for the film, but the ship was renamed Dog Star. The figurehead of the Sirius was a dog holding a star between its forepaws, representing the dog star Sirius. Incidentally, this figurehead now resides in the Hull Maritime Museum. Other reminders of the ship can be found around Cork and further afield. Apart from the paddle shaft in Passage West mentioned earlier, the ship's bell sounded in Ballinrostig chapel for many years. The ship's Bible was kept in Ballycotton Church of Ireland church, before being presented to the captain of the QE2 when the ocean liner visited Cobh in 1988 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Sirius's Atlantic triumph in 1838. The cabin table now sits in the library of Daniel O'Connell's house in Derrynane in Co Kerry. And the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh is based in the building which housed the Royal Cork Yacht Club. A fitting maritime tribute to this world record-maker.