Carrigaloe and it’s History of Boatbuilding – Jim Shealy

Though hundreds of people use the Cross River Ferries at Carrigaloe each day and it has now become a vital part of the infrastructure of the Great Island, the site for loading the vehicles at Carrigaloe had a very different and interesting past. What a lot of people do not know, especially those who have come to live on the island over recent years, is that the spot where the ferry operates from was once a hub of activity which is now sadly part of our history.

Carrigaloe, on the banks of the Lee, was for many years very much associated with fishing, boat building and boat repair. The well-known Geary family who lived in the village, carried on a family business over many generations in the last century at the Gridiron at Carrigaloe. The yard where they operated their business from was originally a boatyard belonging to the family of the famous Captain Richard Roberts from Passage West who captained the first steamship to cross the Atlantic in 1838, the Sirius. At Carrigaloe Roberts family constructed small craft/cutters for the Royal Navy.

In 1886 Carrigaloe was the scene of great excitement when the Boat Building Committee which was founded to alleviate hardship and unemployment for shipwrights at a difficult time in our history built and launched a fishing boat weighing 25 tons and of 60 foot in length, Christened the ‘Maid of Cove’ she was the first of three boats to be built there for the committee when the boatyard was owned by a Mr Cummins, these boats were to be used for mackerel fishing.

In the early 1970s another local Cobh family, the Fitzpatrick family, who traded under the name of Marine Transport Services, also made their living operating a very successful business relating to ships, ferries and boat building. This company were based at Lynches Quay Cobh where they operated for a number of years before they were bought out by the shipping company Clyde Shipping Ltd. Tony and David Fitzpatrick sons of the original founder of Marine Transport Services, Dan, intending to stay working in related industry bought out the Geary Boatyard at Carrigaloe. With the assistance and encouragement of B.I. M. (Board Iascaigh Mhara), the national body with responsibility for the fishing industry and they being steeped in the business of ships and shipping they began developing the small boatyard into a top class facility where they built fishing trawlers for the indigenous fishing industry which was thriving at the time. The name they decided to trade under was ‘Maritem Industries Ltd’.

At the outset a lot of the foreshore at Carrigaloe as we see it today was reclaimed, with thousands of tons of infill brought on to site and the grounds levelled by bulldozing and grading. The old corrugated iron sheds which stood there and gave the area the name, ‘The Gridiron’ were utilised as workshops and stores and work commenced on the construction of trawlers.

Employing mostly local labour from Carrigaloe, Cobh, Passage West, Monkstown and Crosshaven, this new industry gave interesting and varied work opportunities to many young men from these localities.

Initially the trawlers built there were smaller open decked fishing boats but with the development of the works and the construction of purpose built facilities larger and more sophisticated boats were built there.

In its heyday in the mid. to late 70s Maritem Industries Ltd became one of the foremost yards in the country in constructing trawlers and with their respected reputation for quality and reliability found clients for their trawlers in all of the major fishing ports throughout the country. From a modest beginning in building timber trawlers they progressed on to a structure whereby they imported large steel hulls from Holland, up to ninety foot in length and with their skilled workforce these hulls were fitted out and finished at Carrigaloe. So successful was the yard to become that they were able to compete with boatyards from Scotland, Holland, France and the Scandinavian countries.

Maritem Industries Ltd. at its peak had a workforce of 158 people including fitters, shipwrights, electricians, pipefitters, general operators, riggers and incredible though it might now appear, there were 23 apprentices employed there learning the skills of boatbuilding and related crafts from master tradesmen. Many of these apprentices went on to be master craftsmen and business people themselves. Naturally there was a great sense of camaraderie among the workforce, which thankfully still exists whenever they meet up. It was a unique work environment.

Sadly due to unusual circumstances Maritime Industries Ltd. went into receivership in July of 1981, just ten short years after its commencement. The machinery was sold off and after no buyer was found the machinery and the site sold off, sometime later the old workshops were dismantled and the landscape changed again to construct the grounds for the new Cross River Ferry.

Next time you are waiting in your car for the ferry to cross, sit back and relax, close your eyes and let your imagination wander, who knows, you may hear the peal of hammer on steel or the laughter of men of a recent or bygone age, sounds, which must still reverberate in the wind in this now changed location.

This article first appeared in the Cobh Edition on 16th November 2019