Final Voyage of the Thetis

Immigration and Smuggling in the 19th Century

Author: Paul O'Dowd

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In November 1834, a sail ship went aground on a beach in North Kerry, on the west coast of Ireland. The ship called the Thetis was returning from collecting timber in Quebec, having delivered thousands of Irish immigrants to the New World. Engineer and sailor Paul O'Dowd has always been intrigued by the ship and in The Final Voyage of the Thetis he sets out to untangle the story of the fatal ship, while using its last voyage as a portal into the world of 19^th century sailing.

O'Dowd uncovers how these unsuitable ships were able to navigate the Atlantic and find their way through the treacherous waters of The Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ships like the Thetis was also used to bring thousands of Irish immigrants across the Atlantic to Canada and the United States. The passengers on board the Thetis had to endure crowded, unsanitary conditions with limited access to food and drink for at least six weeks, experiences O'Dowd describes in detail in the pages of his debut book.

In the years before the Great Famine, Ireland was an island of contradictions with poverty and deprivation sitting uneasily with technological advances and scientific discoveries. This account pays tribute to some of the Irish men and women who helped to improve safety at sea and the lives of the sailors on the dangerous crossings to Quebec.

How was it that the ship survived weeks at sea during the Atlantic crossings but met its end far off course in the calmer waters of the Shannon Estuary? The Final Voyage of the Thetis tries to uncover the truth behind the wrecking of the ship, the people who owned the Thetis and those who sailed on her.