A monument to the SS Portláirge will be unveiled at its final resting place in Bannow Bay, Wexford, during National Heritage Week.
The propeller—recovered before the vessel’s complete deterioration—will be permanently installed by the Shore Road, St Kearns, Wexford Y34 DX79, overlooking Bannow Bay where the boat made its final voyage.
The striking new maritime monument will be unveiled on Water Day, at 2.00 p.m., Sunday, 24 August, commemorating the SS Portláirge, Ireland’s last operational steam-powered dredger.
With support from Wexford County Council, the propeller was salvaged and preserved. Funding from the Heritage Council and the Saltmills and St. Kearns Community Group has enabled the construction of this enduring tribute to the Portláirge and to Wexford’s maritime legacy.
Built in 1907 by the Dublin Dockyard Company for the Waterford Harbour Commissioners, the SS Portláirge served for 77 years as a channel-clearing steam dredger. After sea trials on the Clyde, it operated mainly in Waterford, with assignments in New Ross and Liverpool. By its final year, the mud boat was regarded as Europe’s last working steam dredger. In 1921 it famously transported two officers of the Irish Provisional Government to Youghal. The boat’s last journey, in August 1987, ended in Bannow Bay where it ran aground during a storm—its resting place ever since.
Over the past four decades, the vessel has deteriorated beyond repair. In summer 2023, the Community Group, in collaboration with Wexford County Council, removed the historic propeller. With land kindly donated by Tommy and Jodie Hickey (Hook Head Oysters) the group commissioned a monument that celebrates the boat’s legacy and the region’s rich seafaring past.
The unveiling event will be part of Heritage Week’s Water Day celebrations, hosted by the Saltmills and St. Kearns Community Group in partnership with the St. Kearns Rowing Club. Activities include:
• Ecological dredging talks
• Rowing trials
• Maritime-themed entertainment
• Barbeque
• Live music
• Face painting for children
A family cockle picking session will take place earlier in the week, on the sandbanks out from the bridge in Saltmills. Dates and times will be announced shortly.
Everyone is welcome to take part in the festivities, explore the community’s maritime roots, and view this unique piece of Irish nautical history.
