Steady As She Goes

In this jam-packed episode of Steady As She Goes, we set sail on another journey through maritime history, resilience, and remarkable stories from Ireland and beyond.This week, we’re joined by Andrew Doherty of Tides & Tales as we delve into the tragic story of the Alfred D. Snow, wrecked at the entrance to Waterford Harbour in 1888, and uncover the fascinating story of a beautifully preserved dresser crafted from timber salvaged from the wreck—now on display at the Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre.We also remember the mighty little James Caird, the legendary small boat that played a crucial role in one of the greatest survival stories ever told.In Maritime Words of the Week, we explore the phrase “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” and its nautical origins.And of course, we bring you the latest news from around the coast, keeping you up to date with all things maritime.⚓ Featuring Andrew Doherty of Tides & Tales⚓ Maritime history, resilience & survival⚓ The story behind a remarkable 150-year-old dresser⚓ The legendary James Caird⚓ Maritime Words of the Week⚓ News from around the coastSafe sailing… and steady as she goes.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we take a step back in time to reflect on two dramatic maritime incidents that unfolded on the very same day along the Wexford coast in 1860.We begin with the story of the American ship Neptune of Boston, driven ashore on the Burrow of Ballyteigue while en route from the US to Liverpool with over 4,000 bales of cotton. Battling fog, wind, and heavy seas, her crew faced a perilous situation—but thanks to the efforts of local agent Edward Meadows and others, all lives were saved. We explore not only the wreck itself, but the remarkable afterlife of the ship, as parts of her structure found new purpose ashore in Kilmore Quay, becoming part of what would be known as “The Wooden House.”We then turn to the Vanguard of New York, which ran aground on the Blackwater Bank the very same day. With the help of Arklow fishermen, the steam tug Erin, and the powerful steamer Fire Fly, a determined salvage effort unfolded involving cargo discharge, coordination ashore, and eventual rescue. It’s a story of seamanship, local knowledge, and the vital role of early maritime response.This episode is a reflection on resilience at sea, the communities that supported those in distress, and the enduring legacy of shipwrecks along our coast.⚓ Maritime history from Wexford and beyond⚓ Stories of survival, salvage, and remembrance⚓ A glimpse into 19th-century seafaring lifeJoin us as we remember these events, and the people behind them.

Episode 16 – Restoration & RevivalIn this episode of Steady As She Goes, we bring you the latest maritime news, stories, and developments from around the coast and beyond.We look at recent updates from the maritime world, including ferry route developments linking Ireland with mainland Europe, and the continued growth in connectivity for both freight and passengers.There’s also a welcome return closer to home, with the Wexford Maritime Festival set to make its comeback for 2026 — a great boost for the local harbour and maritime community.In our Good Pirates feature, we highlight the inspiring restoration of the TS Lord Nelson, a vessel with a unique story and an important place in sail training history.And as always, we dive into our Maritime Word of the Week, exploring the origins and stories behind the language of the sea.⚓ News from around the coast⚓ Good Pirates – Restoring TS Lord Nelson⚓ Maritime Word of the WeekPlease note: As we move into the summer season, Steady As She Goes will be moving to a fortnightly release schedule.If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to follow and share — and as always…Steady As She Goes.

In Episode 15 of Steady As She Goes, we explore Irish maritime history, coastal news, and life at sea — from the Irish Sea to the Atlantic coast.This episode features a powerful remembrance of the Tuskar Rock air disaster (1968), marking the anniversary of Aer Lingus Flight 712 and its lasting impact on Ireland’s southeast coast.In our News from around the coast segment, we cover:Galway RNLI and over 30 years of lifesaving service25 years of Ireland’s marine data buoy network with the Marine Institute and Met ÉireannThe legacy of the RMS Celtic (White Star Line) in CorkLatest Irish Sea ferry updates, including Stena Nordica and NorbayWe also look back on the end of the lighthouse keeper era in Ireland at Baily Lighthouse (1997) — a key moment in maritime heritage.This week’s featured interview is with Darragh Sheridan, CEO of Sail Training Ireland, discussing sail training, tall ships, youth development, and maritime education in Ireland.We also remember the loss of the Saint Fintan (1941) during World War II — highlighting the risks faced by Irish merchant seafarers.Plus, our Maritime Word of the Week: the origin of “pipe down.”Perfect for anyone interested in Irish maritime history, shipping news, sailing, lighthouses, RNLI, and life at sea.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we sit down with Capt. Dermot Gray for a fascinating look back on a remarkable life at sea, including 38 years of service with C.I.L.From the bridge to the coastline, Dermot shares stories, insights, and experiences from decades spent working in Irish waters and beyond — offering a rare glimpse into the realities of a seafaring career.We also bring you:News from around the coastThe remarkable story of the MüllersMaritime Words of the WeekAs always, it’s maritime stories from Ireland and beyond.

Episode 13 of Steady As She Goes brings another packed round-up of maritime stories, history and news from around our coasts and beyond.In this episode we look at several developments in the ferry world, including the charter of MV Norbay for the Rosslare–Cherbourg service and the arrival of Côte d’Albâtre covering duties on the Dunkirk–Rosslare route. We also revisit the proposed Cork–Boulogne ferry service, with the latest update on the project and the reported involvement of Laurence Goodman in the proposed Hibernia Line.Elsewhere around the coast we mark the opening of the new Irish Coast Guard station in Westport, remember the much-loved Royal Iris of the Mersey as she prepares for her final departure after 60 years, and take a poignant look back at the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.There’s also a fascinating mystery from maritime history involving the disappearance of the SS Naronic, a listener-inspired Maritime Words of the Week, and the remarkable story of an Irish-flagged bulker heading deep into the Amazon.All that, plus maritime memories, listener contributions and plenty more besides.Safe sailing — and steady as she goes.

Some modern ships now sail with giant spinning towers rising above their decks.It looks like futuristic technology — designed to help cut fuel consumption and emissions.But the idea behind it was first tested almost a century ago… and it worked.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we explore the spirit of dauntless courage that defines life at sea — past and present.We’re joined by David Carroll to reflect on maritime heritage and the stories that continue to shape our coastal communities. In Maritime Words of the Week, we dive into the origins of “Monkey Island” — that distinctive high vantage point on a ship’s superstructure — and uncover the fascinating history behind its name.In News from Around the Coast, we bring you the latest developments from Ireland’s maritime world, and we take a moment to think of seafarers navigating not only rough weather, but the realities of conflict in today’s global waters.From heritage to hard truths, Episode 12 is a tribute to the resilience, professionalism and quiet bravery of those who go to sea.⚓ Listen now and join the conversation.

Episode 11 of Steady As She Goes remembers the ILV Isolda, the Irish Lights vessel whose dramatic wartime loss left a lasting mark on our maritime story. In this episode, we’re joined by Elleesa Rushby to explore the history of Isolda, the events surrounding her sinking, and why her story still resonates today. We also bring you News From Around the Coast and our ever-popular Maritime Word of the Week. Settle in as we honour a remarkable vessel and the people connected to her story.

From livestock cargoes to lifeboat legacies, Episode 10 of Steady As She Goes is a story of small beginnings and lasting impact.We look back at the very first passenger sailing from Rosslare — a voyage that carried more than just travellers, and helped shape a proud maritime tradition.Thirty years on, we reflect on the Sea Empress disaster and the lasting safety lessons learned across the industry. We also mark Ernest Shackleton’s birthday, bring you news from around the coast, celebrate the arrival of Larne RNLI’s new Shannon class lifeboat, and bid farewell to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s vessel Celtic Mist.From pigs and sheep to proud seafaring heritage — this is Episode 10.

In Episode 9 we cast our net wide once again, bringing you the latest news and stories from around the coast, along with our Maritime Words of the Week — small phrases that carry a lifetime of seafaring tradition.We then turn our attention to Rosslare Harbour and the lifeboat St. Brendan, exploring her service, her role on the station, and the waters she has faithfully served.Our main feature is a fascinating conversation with Captain John Reilly, as we delve into the story of Harbour Towage and his lifelong love of maritime history. From harbour life to the great ocean-going liners, John shares memories, insights, and reflections shaped by a career spent close to the sea.As always, Steady As She Goes is about the ships, the stories, and the people who keep maritime heritage alive — one watch at a time.

In this special extended episode of Steady As She Goes, we tell the story of The Long Watch — the quiet, dangerous, and often forgotten service carried out by Irish merchant seamen during the Second World War on the MV KerlogueWe also launch our Seafaring Stories slot when we speak with Radio Officer Robert McFadden.We have an On Watch report from Tommy Dover in Wicklow along with our Model of the Month and Maritime words of the Week.

This is Harbour Stories — short, standalone episodes from Steady As She Goes, telling the stories of the ships, people, and working vessels that kept Irish harbours moving.In this episode, we’re telling the story of one such vessel: the tug Wexford — built in 1888, and for decades essential to the life and safety of Wexford Harbour. And today, her story can still be seen, through a beautiful painting of the tug at work on display at the Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre.When we think about maritime history, we often picture great liners, dramatic wrecks, or ships lost at sea. But just as often, it was a smaller vessel — working quietly day after day — that made everything else possible.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we turn our attention to the lifesaving tradition of Dublin Bay.Sean is joined by maritime historian Cormac Lowth to explore the history of the lifeboats that have served the bay, with a particular focus on RNLI Dún Laoghaire Lifeboat Station. Together, they trace how lifeboat services developed in response to changing ships, weather, and coastal communities — and the human stories behind decades of rescue work.From lives shaped by the sea to moments of endurance, service, and connection beyond Ireland’s shores, this episode continues our journey through the people, places, and working vessels that define Ireland’s relationship with the ocean.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we explore how Ireland’s maritime history survives not only in archives and harbours — but on the seabed itself.Our main feature takes us beneath the waves with Ed Burke, wreck diver and maritime historian, as he tells the remarkable story of Le Impatient, a French vessel lost off Mizen Head in 1797. Drawing on years of research and first-hand diving experience, Ed reveals how shipwrecks preserve fragments of our shared European maritime past, long after the ships themselves have vanished from the surface.The episode also pauses to remember Frank Hurley, the legendary photographer of the Shackleton expeditions, whose determination to save his glass plate negatives from the sinking Endurance ensured that one of the great survival stories of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration would endure.We’re On Watch in Rosslare Harbour, where John Boyce offers insight into the everyday rhythms of one of Ireland’s most important working ports. In Maritime Words of the Week, we explore why speed at sea is measured in knots, tracing the term back to its nautical origins and its continued use in navigation today.As always, the episode is rounded out with news from around the coast, reflecting the people, places, and stories that continue to shape Ireland’s maritime world.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we explore maritime history through art, memory, and place.Our main feature, “A Picture Paints a Thousand Ships,” sees Sean joined by Brian Cleare, maritime artist and historian, to discuss how paintings, sketches, and visual records help preserve the stories of ships, harbours, and working life at sea — often capturing details lost to written history.We also go On Watch with Michael Cusack in New Ross and Waterford, bringing local maritime perspectives from two historic river ports. The episode is rounded out with news from around the coast and a maritime word of the week.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we bring together a range of stories that reflect the breadth of Ireland’s maritime heritage — from working harbours to individual acts of courage.We begin with an update from the Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre, before speaking with Tommy Dover of Wicklow Maritime about preserving maritime history and community memory along the east coast. Our Model of the Month segment then focuses on a featured piece from the museum collection, offering insight into the stories that physical artefacts can tell.The episode also brings to life a remarkable story of selflessness and bravery through the tale of William Deanes, the Dublin docker, whose actions left a lasting mark on the city’s maritime history. As always, we round out the episode with news from around the coast and a maritime word of the week.

Released on New Year’s Eve, this episode looks at how the Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre came into being.Sean is joined by Leo Coy and John Boyce to tell the story of the Centre’s origins — from early ideas and community support to the preservation of artefacts, memories, and maritime stories connected to Rosslare Harbour.Alongside the conversation, the episode features news from around the coast and a maritime word of the week, marking the start of Steady As She Goes with a focus on place, people, and shared maritime heritage.

In this episode of Steady As She Goes, we speak with maritime historian Terry Conlan about his new publication, Irish Merchant Ships and Shipowners, and the stories behind Ireland’s merchant fleet.We discuss the ships, companies, and individuals who shaped Irish maritime trade, along with news from around the coast and our regular maritime word of the week.An essential episode for anyone interested in Irish shipping history and the people who kept it moving.

An introduction to Steady As She Goes, a podcast exploring Ireland’s rich maritime history — the ships, people, harbours, and working vessels that shaped life around our coast.In this opening episode, we set out what the podcast is about, why these stories matter, and what listeners can expect in future episodes — from merchant ships and lifeboats to harbours, rescues, and forgotten working craft.If you’re interested in Irish maritime history, this is the place to start.