1964 marked the arrival in Galway of the former Steam Tug Calshot. It’s main duty was to act as tender for Holland-America liners which anchored off Salthill or Ballyvaughan, the Port channel being too shallow for their approach.
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| Previously known as the Steam Tug CALSHOT. |
Previous to this, liners had been served by both the old Aran ferry, S.S. Dún Aengus and from 1958 by the newly arrived M.V Naomh Éanna. Former crew member Bartley Beatty remembers some difficult days with transfers in the bay as the gangway took on a life of its own.
The Naomh Éanna was eventually adjudged to be unsuitable for the transfer of passengers in less than perfect weather so the Holland - America line purchased the more stable Steam Tug Calshot and had it refitted with diesel engines in Rotterdam, renaming it M.V Galway Bay.
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| The Steam Tug CALSHOT at Southampton tending to the famous liner, QUEEN MARY. |
Previous to World War One, many an emigrant for the Americas had left from Galway on the famous Allan Liners but it would be 1927 before liners returned to Galway with the arrival of the North German Lloyd liner, S.S. Munchen on May 20th. The Munchen was piloted into Galway by the famous captain of the S.S Dún Aengus, Limerick man Senan Meskell.
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| A map of Galway Bay showing Galway town, Ballyvaughan and the Aran Islands. In bad weather, passengers arriving or leaving by transatlantic liner were transferred in more sheltered conditions just off Ballyvaughan. |
The return of transatlantic liners in 1927 would revive the melancholic practise where parents and families would gather at different points on the three islands, to wave a last goodbye to sons, daughters, sisters and brothers on board a departing liner, knowing that it was likely their loved ones were seeing the islands for the last time.
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| A photograph taken in 1938 at Inis Meáin by the famous German folklorist Heinrich Becker. (1907-2001) |
By 1930 the number of liners calling at Galway had increased greatly and in order to keep them coming, the Harbour Board decided to buy an old Liverpool- Birkenhead steam ferry S.S. Lincolnshire, as a permanent tender in Galway Bay. This boat they renamed S.V Cathair na Gaillimhe. The cost was £5,250.
The port of Galway was very busy in the 1930s as this was the age before mass air travel. A sign of things to come was Captain Meskell of the SS Dún Aengus, witnessing from the Aran Islands, the first East West flight of the Bremen, passing overhead in April 1928 as it headed for Canada. The jet age was on the horizon.
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| The BREMEN and it’s crew of three about to leave Baldonnell on their famous 36 hour journey across the Atlantic. There were great celebrations on both sides of the ocean when they landed safely in Canada. |
In 1933 over a hundred liners visited Galway Port carrying nearly 10,000 passengers.
Galway’s days as a liner destination would come to an abrupt halt with the onset of WW2 and the last liner to call until 1958 was a Japanese ship, HUSIMI MARU, evacuating 400 nationals on November 6th 1940.
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| Japanese children who arrived by liner in Galway Bay in November 1940. They had come from Lisbon and stopped off in Galway to pick up some U.K based refugees, escaping home to Japan by way of the Panama Canal. |
Two American liners had previously done likewise for U.S. citizens wishing to get home as Europe descended into barbarism, the last being the packed ‘SS Washington’ leaving Galway in July 1940.
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| The upper and lower decks of the Cathair na Gaillimhe were crowded in 1940 with American refugees fleeing the war in Europe. They were being brought to an American ship anchored in the bay. |
With no liners calling, the ‘Cathair na Gaillimhe’ lay almost idle and in 1942 an attempt was made to sell it as maintenance costs were excessive. It would be six more years before she finally departed Galway, being towed to Cork by the Steam Trawler Ebro.
And so, with no liners calling, the need for a tender vanished until in the 1950s, an effort was made to entice the Ocean Liners back to Galway Bay.
In 1958 the Holland-America line was persuaded to make a stopover at Galway which resulted in their S.S. Ryndam arriving during the races on July 31st. The first liner to enter Galway Bay since 1940. The recently arrived MV Naomh Éanna was praised for its work in ferrying passengers and baggage ashore.
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| The liner MAASDAM which was a regular visitor to Galway between 1958 and 1968. Along with its sister ship RYNDAM, it offered budget travel by sea. The RYANAIR of the 1950s |
The liners RYNDAM and MAASDAM would continue to be serviced by the Naomh Éanna until the Holland-America line decided in 1964 to buy the old Steam Tug Calshot in Southampton and rename it MV Galway Bay.
After being fitted with new diesel engines in Rotterdam, the MV Galway Bay headed for Galway on May 27th 1964. Encountering fog on the way, it was late getting to Galway where big celebrations had been planned. It arrived on Tuesday June 2nd and a large crowd gathered to welcome it to Galway.
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| Among the crew who flew to Holland to bring the Galway Bay home was the late Tom Savage. His record here shows him being in The Hague in May 1964. Tom stayed with the boat until it finished up for the season and was delivered to Limerick. Many thanks to his son Gerry. |
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| Tom Savage can be seen here on the left on board the old MV Naomh Éanna at Céibh Chill Rónáin in 1977. Tom was drowned near the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco in January 1994 when his trawler was in collision with a huge container ship. Also featured are fellow crew members Tony Quinn and Charlie Boyle in the white cap on right. (Photo by Raoul Lemercier) |
On the way home to Galway it had stopped off at Cobh to discharge the worlds largest model ship which occupied most of its deck. This was a two ton model of the liner S.S. Rotterdam which was over forty feet long. It was bound for the Horse Show at Ballsbridge in Dublin.
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| Intercontinental Hotel Dublin, June 1964 |
The man appointed as Master of the Galway Bay was one of the town’s most famous mariners, the late Paddy Cantwell. Paddy was unable to take command for some weeks so the job of taking her back to Galway went to Captain Jack O’Sullivan of Limerick Steamship Company, whose brother Tim was the Galway Port pilot.
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| Captain O’Sullivan with two of the four passengers who travelled with him from Rotterdam to Ireland. One of the others was the well known painter, designer and cartoonist Eppo Doeve. |
On Sunday June 6th 1964 the GALWAY BAY made her first visit to the islands when the local Galwegians Rugby club chartered her for what turned out to be a great day out. The Connacht Tribune carried a report of the club’s forward thinking. The club flag was hoisted on the Galway Bay and the President and Vice President, Jack Deacy and C.P. Crowley led the way.
Not to be outdone, the local Galway Observer reported that the local Corinthians rugby club had visited the island just before them. They had travelled on a yacht belonging to Dave Fitzgerald of Tynagh mines and included their trainer Paddy Griffin with players Dave Fitzgerald, Don Armstrong and Mick Hackett.
The two paper’s reporting, possibly reflected the sporting loyalties of the two reporters.
The MV Galway Bay started her new role as Liner tender with the arrival of the S.S. MAASDAM on June 15th 1964, when 204 passengers arrived from New York. Most were Irish Americans returning to see their relations and their roots.
From late in June 1964 when it began regular services until late September, the ‘Galway Bay’ carried over 7000 visitors to Cill Rónáin.
As a result of efforts by Ballyvaughan Development Association and with support from Clare County Council, it was decided to recreate the days when steamboats called regularly at different ports on Galway Bay.
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| 1940 marked the end of regular trips between Galway, Ballyvaughan and the Aran Islands. |
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| The S.S. Duras availing of a high tide to access the pier at Ballyvaughan around 1900 |
Access to Ballyvaughan is greatly governed by the tide and so it was that Captain Cantwell’s son Pat remembers being awakened at an ungodly hour on Sunday August 9th 1964 before the ‘Galway Bay’ headed for Ballyvaughan to catch the morning tide. She docked there at 6:50am and left for Cill Rónáin at 8:30am.
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| A postcard showing many aspects of the old passenger ferry, MV Galway Bay. From the extensive postcard collection of Mark at The Days of the MV Naomh Éanna, Facebook page. |
This was the first ferry to enter the port since the S.S. Dún Aengus had made her last call there in 1940.
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The day was perfect and a great crowd of 310 headed off for a two hour cruise to the islands. Among the passengers was Mrs Bridget Mullins from Ballyvaughan, who had travelled previously to the islands on both the SS Duras and the SS Dún Aengus.
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| Conscious no doubt that the waters of Galway Bay are shared by two counties, the local Clare Champion newspaper carried a report on the only Clare member of Crew. Sinon would go on to spend time as Master of the MV Galway Bay before being appointed Harbour Pilot in Galway. |
After getting mass in Cill Rónáin, most headed off with local jarveys for a tour of the island. However, some joined a large crowd of locals in the former schoolhouse to watch Galway defeat Meath in the All Ireland football semi final. The start of a golden era for Galway football.
The Galway Bay arrived back in Ballyvaughan to catch the evening tide and docked at 7:pm. One passenger remembered once missing the tide on the SS Dún Aengus and having to spend six hours anchored before getting to disembark.
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| As can be seen from this photo taken in May 2025, access to Ballyvaughan Pier is hugely governed by the tides. |
Paddy Cantwell got back to Ballyvaughan in time in 1964 but even if he had been forced to wait on anchor for six hours, his vast store of anecdotes, yarns and repeatable jokes, would have helped pass away the time.
As well as liner tender duties and excursions to Cill Rónáin, the M.V. Galway Bay in the 1960s offered evening cruises on the Bay. Some of our readers may remember those trips.
From 1964 until retired in 1986, the MV Galway Bay carried hundreds of thousands of passengers on the bay it was named after.
Returning to her home port of Southampton in 1986, she reverted back to her old steam tug name of Calshot.
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| CALSHOT back in Southampton. |
Despite heroic efforts by historic ship enthusiasts, the restoring of Calshot as a reminder of the great Ocen going liners, had to be abandoned.
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| M.V. Naomh Éanna shortly before being cut up. |
As with the efforts of Mark Radford and others to preserve the old M.V. Naomh Éanna, both ships have now sadly been scrapped.
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| The two old ships can be seen here at Galway dock in this nostalgic painting by the well known Galway based artist, Derek Biddulph (1925-2008) |
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