THE WRECK PORT ANNALONG a brief History. ( More to follow)

When trying to get as much info on the old fishermen and their names I had to sometimes rely on information from several characters that didn't follow the call of the sea but assured me for a few pints could give me a little history of the port of times gone by.

The serious side of the fishing industry has been exhaustively dealt with but the present generation knows little or nothing about the long line fishermen of olden days. They were a gallant band who faced death many a time when they left the shore. They fished from the Wreck Port at Annalong, so called because of a boat called the "Troubador" which was wrecked off there long ago.

The fleets consisted of about 14 small boats. The boats were twelve to sixteen feet in length and from four to six feet beam.
The fishing generally started in January, so you can imagine these men pushing their wee boats down to the sea at midnight on a dark winter's night not knowing if they ever would see their homes again. They very often had to pull their craft with the oars to the fishing ground three or four miles out. Sometimes a storm would break before they got their lines shot and they had to run before the wind to shelter often as far as Newcastle or Kilough, or the Bar of Carlingford. Nothing these hardy men dreaded as much as a snowstorm. About 100 fishermen were lost in a snowstorm off the Mourne coast about the year 1825 and 75 were lost in 1855, and there were different disasters in later years, one very bad one in the year 1904.

So you see what danger these men risked for very small rewards. From half-a-crown to five shillings a man would be their average return when they got a decent catch of fish. Why did they call it long line fishing?
Because they used lines baited with mussels; the lines were 400 fathoms long and there was a fathom between each hook. Every man of the crew of seven in each boat had a line and there were seven bags of sand in the weather side of every boat for ballast. There was a mussel to every hook and if the mussels were small two were used for a bait. The mussels were drawn by horses and carts from Narrow Water, Warrenpoint, and from Dundrum Strand.

Here are the names of some of the fishermen who operated from the Wreck Port: Harry Burden, Longstone, and his sons Hugh, Tom and John, Henry Young, Longstone and his sons Charlie and James and Sammy Young, a cousin; Robert Burden and his three sons and his brother Harry Burden, Ballyvea, Johnnie, Pat and Willie McCartan (Tom's), Longstone, Richard McCartan (Wee Dick), Valley Road and his sons, James, Johnny and Arthur, John Heaney and his two sons Willie and Johnny, Ballyvea, James Heaney, Annalong,Willie Purdy, Annalong, James Quinn, Leestone, Johnny McGlue, Torlis Hill, Jim Rogers, Ballyvea, Ned Quinn, Ballyvea, Dominic McAlinden, Moneydarraghbeg,Bob Cousins, Robert Young, Ballyvea, and his sons, Francis Doran, Ballyvea,George Nugent and John Nugent, Ballyvea, James Clugson, Wreck Port.

Here are the names of some of the old long line boats and their skippers: "The Star of the Sea" (Johnny McCartan) (Dick), "The Bonny Jane" (Jamey Heaney), "The Molly" (Johnny Gibson and Jamey Heaney), "The St. Bridget" (Pat Trimble), "The Dingy" (Hugh McStay and his brother Barney), "The Mary Alice" (Johnny Cunningham - Tommy's), "The star of Bethlehem" (Johnny Carr and W. Heany, Ballymartin), "The Morning Star" (Pat Trimble), "The Lizzy J. Bell" (J Boyd), "The Eliza Jane" (Richard McCarton), "The Annie Annett" (Jame McCartan and Johnny McCormick, Ballymartin), "The Valley Boat" (Johnny O'Reilly and Ned Rodgers), "The Mary Ellen" (James McCartan), (Dick).

"The Bengullion" foundered about 70 years ago coming from Birkenhead to Annalong with cargo of coal for Mr. Bob Cousins, Annalong. The crew of three were lost, viz, skipper James Campbell and his son James, and a man from Skerries named Hughes.

ANNALONG SCHOONERS AND THEIR CAPTAINS

Annalong may well feel proud of the great tradition of its sailors and its gallant fleet. The Annalong schooners of a bygone age and their captains were familiar in almost every seaport in the four Kingdoms and indeed in many Continental ports as well.
What memories their names arouse. Who has not heard of "The Nellie Bywater" and her master Captain William McKibben, and "The Volant" and her master Captain W. Purdy: "The Howard" and her master Captain J. McKibben, "The Mabel" under the guidance of patriarchal Captain M. Caren; "The Harmony" and Captain S. Chambers; the "C. S. Parnell" and her master Captain J. Mc Connell; "The Lough Ranza Castle" and her master, Captain James McKibben; "The Maid of Irvine", captained by Wm. McCullough; "The Pious" and her captain James Campbell; "The Edith" and Captain Wm. Doran; and the "Excel" (skipper in 1901 Robert Gordon). "The Excel" was dismasted off Wicklow Head about 1900 and the crew of three were drowned: Jack Gordon, Annalong and his son, and Sam McKibben, Annalong, also a young man from Connemara. "The Lily" (Jack Orr), "The Phyllis" (Robert McCartan, Annalong). Robert was cook on "The Phyllis" when he was 12 years old and later became her skipper. He also skippered the "Mary Ann Jane" for years. He was also skipper of "The four brothers" for a considerable time. "The Mary Graze" (J. McKibben), "The Goldseeker" (James Caren), "The Princes Louise" (Charlie McBurney), "The Progress" (Hugh Chambers), "The Flora" (Harry McCullough), "The Orion" and "The Arabella", (skipper Billy McCormick), "The Busy Bee" (John Gordon), "The young Hudson" (Harry Caren), "The Waft" (Charley McBurney), "The Pius IX" (Sam Skillen and Johnny Kearney), "The Ethel May" (Johnny Kearney), "The Busy Bee" (W McClelland), "The Hunter" (W McKibben), "The Christian Shearer" (T. Chambers), "The Useful" (Joe McKibben).

There were others as well which used to call at Annalong, whose skippers were not from the village, such as "The Yacht" (Captain J. Kerr) "The Perseverance" (Capt. J. Rooney); "The Richard Cobden" (Capt. T. Lowe).

These schooners were based on Annalong and Kilkeel and up to about 80 years ago they plied a regular trade between all the main ports of England and Ireland. Their principal cargoes were potatoes, coal and granite. They gave the local granite and potato exporters much better service than they are getting now when the products have to be hauled by road in the U.T.A freight lorries to the docks in Belfast and exported over a placid lake.

Now, alas, their day is done. The day of sail and square rigged ships has passed? They served their day and generation well and those old schooners crews were no gingerbread sailormen, but hardheaded horny-handed sons of the sea who learned their trade the hard way - the type of men who formed the nucleus or the crews of merchant and battle fleets in peace and war.