IN the early morning of 14th February, with a heavy sea running, a Welsh steam-trawler, the Tenby Castle, went ashore on the rocks in Clifden Bay, Con- nemara, on the west of Ireland, a coast where there are many rocky islands, the great majority uninhabited. Her Cap- tain sent out a wireless message that he was abandoning ship, and asked for immediate help. The message, was picked up, and four other steam-traw- lers, all of which had wireless, went in search of the crew.

The Tenby Castle was rapidly sinking, and her ship's boat was launched, but it was swept away. At once one of the fire- men, T. L. Cloudsdale, dived into the sea, swam after it and clung to it until a line was thrown to him. The line wound itself round his neck, but, although suffering intense pain, and in danger of being strangled, he clung to the boat, and was hauled back to the trawler. The whole crew got aboard the boat, and succeeded in reaching the inhabited island of Inishturk.

The four trawlers, meanwhile, had continued their search, and during the night one of them, the Cardigan Castle, also struck a rock somewhere in the same neighbourhood, but exactly where is not known. Her Captain sent out a wireless call that the ship was sink- ing, and that he was about to abandon her. What happened then is known only from the story of one survivor.

After the ship struck, so his story goes, the ship's boat was launched, but like the boat of the Tenby Castle, she broke loose. He jumped overboard and swam towards her. As he was swimming, he struck against the Captain's dog, and taking its hair in his teeth, he swam on and reached the boat. He found two buckets and a shovel on board, and after he had baled her out, he used the shovel as a paddle. He could find no sign of the trawler nor any other member of the crew. In the end, when completely exhausted, he was rescued by three men in a curragh who towed him to Clare Island, where he was picked up by one of the other trawlers.

Although he had seen no sign of any other members of the crew, it was hoped for some time that others had got safely to some island, and the search was con- tinued, the three steam trawlers, the Irish Free State Fishery Protection Cruiser, Muirchu, and, later, aero- planes from Dublin taking part in it.

The Cardigan Castle had struck just after midnight on the Sunday. On the follow- ing Wednesday, 17th February, a piece of packing-case was picked up with "No. 258740," on it, and a message written in indelible pencil: " We three on a place called High Island, ship- IN the early morning of 14th February, with a heavy sea running, a Welsh steam-trawler, the Tenby Castle, went ashore on the rocks in Clifden Bay, Con- nemara, on the west of Ireland, a coast where there are many rocky islands, the great majority uninhabited. Her Cap- tain sent out a wireless message that he was abandoning ship, and asked for immediate help. The message, was picked up, and four other steam-traw- lers, all of which had wireless, went in search of the crew.

The Tenby Castle was rapidly sinking, and her ship's boat was launched, but it was swept away. At once one of the fire- men, T. L. Cloudsdale, dived into the sea, swam after it and clung to it until a line was thrown to him. The line wound itself round his neck, but, although suffering intense pain, and in danger of being strangled, he clung to the boat, and was hauled back to the trawler. The whole crew got aboard the boat, and succeeded in reaching the inhabited island of Inishturk.

The four trawlers, meanwhile, had continued their search, and during the night one of them, the Cardigan Castle, also struck a rock somewhere in the same neighbourhood, but exactly where is not known. Her Captain sent out a wireless call that the ship was sink- ing, and that he was about to abandon her. What happened then is known only from the story of one survivor.

After the ship struck, so his story goes, the ship's boat was launched, but like the boat of the Tenby Castle, she broke loose. He jumped overboard and swam towards her. As he was swimming, he struck against the Captain's dog, and taking its hair in his teeth, he swam on and reached the boat. He found two buckets and a shovel on board, and after he had baled her out, he used the shovel as a paddle. He could find no sign of the trawler nor any other member of the crew. In the end, when completely exhausted, he was rescued by three men in a curragh who towed him to Clare Island, where he was picked up by one of the other trawlers.

Although he had seen no sign of any other members of the crew, it was hoped for some time that others had got safely to some island, and the search was con- tinued, the three steam trawlers, the Irish Free State Fishery Protection Cruiser, Muirchu, and, later, aero- planes from Dublin taking part in it.

The Cardigan Castle had struck just after midnight on the Sunday. On the follow- ing Wednesday, 17th February, a piece of packing-case was picked up with "No. 258740," on it, and a message written in indelible pencil: " We three on a place called High Island, ship- wrecked at the entrance of Clifden Saturday night, at 7 p.m." As soon as the news of this discovery was received, the Institution wired to the Government of the Irish Free State, placing at its disposal the Life-boat at Fenit, further south on the coast of Kerry. As the trawlers and the Muirchu were endeavouring to land on High Island, the services of the Life-boat were not thought to be needed. The Institution's District Inspector in Ireland, Lieut.-Commander P. E. Vaux, D.S.C., R.N., then went to Galway, arriving late on the night of the 19th, and when he reached Aughrisbeg, the nearest point to High Island, found that so far the only island which had been landed on was Friar Island, which had been visited on the Monday by Sergeant F. J. Tobin, of the Civic Guard. So far, the Muirchu, although she had been round High Island, had not succeeded in making a landing on account of the heavy sea.

Searching the Islands.

Next day, the 20th, Lieut.-Commander Vaux got a volunteer crew of three men the same who had already taken Sergeant Tobin to Friar Island, to take him in a curragh (a boat made of canvas, stretched over a wooden frame) to High Island. The weather was rough the sea was running very high, and the island steep and rocky, but Lieut.-Commander Vaux succeeded in jumping off on to a projecting rock. The landing was made at considerable risk, for any mistake in handling the boat, or a false step in landing, would hav had serious results. He searched th whole island, which is about 80 acres in extent, but found nothing except "sheep about thirty seals, a stone Celtic cross ruined monastery, and shepherd's hut shaft of old mine." Nobody, he re ported, could have been cast up on tha island without being ground to pulp.

On his return to the mainland, he saw an aeroplane flying over the islands, It was one of five which had arrived from Dublin, and it had taken food to drop on High Island.

The next day, Sunday, the Muirchu, with the Colonel of the Irish Free State Air Corps on board, cruised roundthe islands, and a landing was made too bad for flying,, and by this time it was everyone's opinion that the meson the piece of packing case a hoax. There was a number itamped on the board, but this, it had een found, did not belong to any of the •rawlers, and the board was not weather worn.

The Monday was also too rough for flying, and though the Muirchu went out to another island, called Croagh, the sea was too rough to attempt a landing.

By the afternoon the wind had gone down a good deal, and Lieut.-Commander Vaux got a crew of six men to row him out in a pulling boat to Croagh, an island all rocks, very steep, and even wilder than High Island. He thoroughly searched it, but found nothing. The same day he motored to another part of the coast, went out in a curragh and searched two more islands, Crump Island and Ballybeg, but without result.

Meanwhile Superintendent E. McQuillan of the Coast Life-saving Service, who had organized the search on shore, had gone by mailboat to Inishbofim in order to search Davilaun. He searched this island and another, and was stranded on one of them for two days.

After this the search was abandoned.

Two bodies, those of the wireless operator and the second engineer, had already been washed up, and there was no hope left of finding any of the crew of the Cardigan Castle alive. The Welsh trawlers had returned to Swansea on the Sunday, and now both the Muirchu and the aeroplanes were recalled.

In recognition of these services the Institution has made the following awards :— To T. L. Cloudsdale, of the Tenby Castle, but for whose prompt and courageous action the whole crew of that vessel would have lost their lives, the Silver Medal.

To Lieut.-Commander P. E. Vaux, i D.S.C., R.N., for his initiative, leader- j ship and courage, the Bronze Medal, ] To Sergeant F. J. Tobin, of the Civic Muirchu, Guard, who was untiring in his efforts, and who, at considerable risk, searched one of the islands, its Thanks inscribed on Vellum.To Superintendent E. McQuillan, ot the Coast Life-saving Service, in recog- nition of Ms action in searching the two islands, and of his valuable co-operation with Lieut.-Commander Vaux, a Pair ol Binoculars. Mr. McQuillan is an ex- Naval man, and was at one time member of the Crew of the Life-boat at Howth, Dublin.

The Institution has also made mone- tary awards to the three men who rowed Commander Vaux to High Island and Sergeant Tobin to Friar Island, and to the four men who brought ashore the sole survivor from the Cardigan Castle.

Two Shore Boat Services on the West Coast of Ireland.

Two days before the Teriby Castle was wrecked, a small boat was capsized in Tralee Bay, further south. She had two men on board who were dredging for oysters. A gale was blowing with a rough sea, but a fisherman, James Shea, and his son, a boy of sixteen, who had just returned from dredging, put out again, although their boat was half-full of water, and at great risk succeeded in rescuing the two men who were clinging | to the mast of their boat. The Insti- tution has awarded both James Shea and his son its Thanks inscribed on Vellum and a monetary reward.

On the night of 16th September, 1925, further up the west coast of Ireland, off Donegal, Mr. John Buchan, of Mulroy Bay, launched a boat with his son and two other men, as they thought they heard cries for help. A gale was blowing with a rough sea. They pulled out some distance, and found a boat nearly full of water, and on board her the Reverend Father Logue nearly unconscious. With *reat difficulty they got him into their joat. It appeared that he had gone out with a young man, Patrick Logue, to ;est an outboard motor. Patrick Logue iad fallen overboard, and Father Logue, n rushing to help him, had capsized the )oat. They clung to the keel for some ime, and then Patrick Logue dropped off, exhausted, and was drowned. Father liogue had then managed to right the oat and get aboard her, but his rescuers arrived only just in time to save his ife. The Institution sent a special jetter of Thanks to Mr. Buchan, and monetary awards to him and his fellow- escuers..