The Irish ship that was caught in war’s crossfire

In THE early hours of May 15, 1943, the SS Irish Oak was torpedoed by a German U-boat 700 miles west of the Fastnet Rock.

Among the thirty-four merchant navy men on board were three ordinary seamen whose addresses were given as Limerick City.

These were John Joseph Behan of 28 O’Curry Place, L. Worsley of 2 Barrack Hill (formerly of South Shields, UK), and Michael Minihan, aged over 70, who had spent 47 years in America and whose brother and sister lived near Mungret.

There was another more tenuous link to Limerick. The captain of the SS Irish Oak, Eric Jones, a Welshman, was in command of another ship named Luimneach when it was sunk by U-46 in September 1940.

The Irish Oak was chartered by the government-owned Irish Shipping Limited and managed by the Limerick Steamship Company.

Just a few days after the SS Irish Oak was sunk, Admiral Dönitz of the German navy ordered the withdrawal of all U-boats from the Atlantic – in effect ending the ferocious Battle for the Atlantic.

The Irish Oak had a cargo of 5,589 tons of fertiliser and was en route from Tampa, Florida to Dublin when she noticed smoke rising from a convoy in the distance.

Irish ships were forbidden to sail in convoy and the Irish Oak reduced speed, a few hours later a submarine, U-650 came alongside; however, there was no interaction between either vessels or crew and the U-boat departed.

That was not the last the crew saw of the U-boat and at about 8.00am the Irish Oak was hit by two torpedoes. The crew scrambled to lower the lifeboats, and all escaped before a final torpedo sank the ship.

As news reached Ireland of the incident, the owners of the vessel, Irish Shipping Ltd. announced that the ship had been lost, but the crew were safe.

Three Irish ships responded to the SOS and the survivors were picked up by the SS Irish Plane at 4.20pm. They landed a few days later at Cobh on the 19 May 1943. The Irish Oak lies almost midway between Newfoundland and Ireland.

The survivors were photographed at Cobh where the Cork Examiner pictured John Behan entering an Irish Red Cross Ambulance at the harbour.

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They were welcomed ashore by Samuel Roycroft, a director of both the Limerick Steamship Company and of Irish Shipping Limited. They next travelled to Dublin, and were welcomed by Peadar Doyle, the Lord Mayor.

The crew were hosted to lunch at Leinster House on 24 May. Dáil debates from the time reveal that Labour leader James Larkin raised the issue of the survivors' treatment.

Citing the crew member who was told by the labour exchange to "go and get his record card", which was lost when the ship sank, Larkin suggested for the Dáil to ask the German Consul-General to send a submarine to retrieve it.

John Joseph Behan was born at 5 Emmet Place on the 22 August 1920, sixth child of Martin Behan and Mary Higgins. After his rescue, he returned to Limerick and took up residence in another family home at 28 O’Curry Place, formerly Frederick Place, to where his grandfather Denis Behan had moved between 1901 and 1911.

Denis’s father Daniel lived on Arthur’s Quay but hailed from Rinevella in the townland of Rehy East on the Loop Head peninsula.

For several generations, the Behan family were associated with maritime occupations, and Daniel, Denis and Martin had all been Shannon pilots, as were Daniel’s son John and the latter’s son Daniel Cornelius and other Behan relatives who remained at Rinevella.

That older John died in Carrigaholt in 1916 but was brought home to Limerick for burial in Mount St. Lawrence.

Shannon pilots played an essential role in guiding shipping from all over the world in safely landing their cargoes at various ports, including Limerick.

The Behans’ knowledge and experience of navigating the waters of the Shannon Estuary saw their skills in much demand over the centuries, particularly in times of conflict, as was the case during the Second World War.

Originally most of the pilots hailed from the Loop Head peninsula, so it is no surprise that the family of John Behan, a survivor of the Irish Oak torpedo attack, originated from this area too.

No doubt, the Rinevella and Arthur’s Quay branches of the Behan family remained in regular contact as they joined and left ships at either end of their journeys along the estuary.

Traditionally, in order to get to a ship, pilots would row out to it in a currach (canoe). The first pilot to reach a ship would get the job.

According to Morgan Roughan, ‘in 1954, Limerick Harbour Commissioners deemed the practice of rowing a pilot out to a ship too dangerous, as ships’ sizes continued to increase. They instructed the pilots on Scattery Island to purchase a motor launch.

It was housed at the pier in Cappagh Village, just outside Kilrush. The western pilots are still stationed in Cappagh to this day.’

My thanks to Paddy Waldron.

Dr Paul O’Brien lectures at Mary Immaculate College.