Did the Royal Navy ever build wooden warships in Irish yards?

[uss frolick]

Or large wooden vessels of any kind, for the pre 1815 period, other than say small working or fishing craft? It just occurred to me that I never heard of one.

Edited October 1, 2023 by uss frolick

[uss frolick]

Wow! No responses?

 

Not even a "Frolick you're an idiot! Don't you remember that HMS Victory was originally HMS Shamrock, build at Cork, prior to her name change..."

 

 

[AJohnson]

I found this:-

 

"Shipbuilding in Ireland in the Nineteenth Century" - Shipbuilding in the United Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century (cambridge.org)

 

Nothing specific on the RN. but the tonnages mentioned may have included Cutters/Brigs/Sloops at a push, maybe commercial vessels brought into the service as transports etc I could imagine, but don't know.  Hopefully some history buffs on here know more.

 

There obviously Harland & Wolff, but that is much later than the period you are interested in.

[bruce d]

Kinsale played a big role in the 17th and 18th centuries and built at least one RN frigate, HMS Kinsale.

Kinsale Dockyard - Wikipedia

 

According to this page HMS Kinsale was the only ship built there for the RN:

List of frigate classes of the Royal Navy - Wikipedia

 

Nothing I have found in The National Archives catalogue contradicts this.  There was a lot of activity but it was almost exclusively maintenance and repairs.  Ireland produced a lot of shipwrights for HM shipyards but I speculate that this was due to a healthy trade in merchant craft.

 

HTH,

Bruce 

[Mark P]

Good Afternoon Frolick;

 

Bruce is indeed correct; there were several attempts to set up a dockyard at Kinsale, but they always failed due to lack of support and funds, despite much pleading from various interested parties. It is also possible that English shipwrights worried about losing lucrative work to Irish yards, and used any influence they had to stop such developments.

 

In 1672 a contract was signed between Sir Nicholas Armorer and Sir Edward Spragge, and the Navy Board, to construct four 50 gun ships at Waterford in Ireland. However, the contract was cancelled and no work carried out, when Spragge was killed at the Battle of the Texel some months later. 

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[uss frolick]

Great information! Thanks guys!

[uss frolick]

On 10/3/2023 at 12:26 PM, Mark P said:

Good Afternoon Frolick;

 

Bruce is indeed correct; there were several attempts to set up a dockyard at Kinsale, but they always failed due to lack of support and funds, despite much pleading from various interested parties. It is also possible that English shipwrights worried about losing lucrative work to Irish yards, and used any influence they had to stop such developments.

 

In 1672 a contract was signed between Sir Nicholas Armorer and Sir Edward Spragge, and the Navy Board, to construct four 50 gun ships at Waterford in Ireland. However, the contract was cancelled and no work carried out, when Spragge was killed at the Battle of the Texel some months later. 

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

"It is also possible that English shipwrights worried about losing lucrative work to Irish yards, and used any influence they had to stop such developments."

 

That was my suspicion ...

Edited October 4, 2023 by uss frolick