IRISH HISTORY SAILS INTO MILFORD HAVEN CELEBRATIONS

A piece of Irish history is set to sail into West Wales this summer after being invited to play a key role in an exciting celebration of Pembrokeshire’s maritime history.

The three-masted barque Dunbrody will make her maiden international voyage to Milford Haven at the invitation of Seafair Haven 2006, a week long celebration of classic craft ranging from tall ships to row boats between 24th June and 2nd July.

The event also coincides with Pembrokeshire Fish Week, an established festival encompassing a lively range of family fun events, special fish promotions by the hospitality industry, cookery demonstrations and special pub events such as sea shanty nights.

Seafair Haven 2006 and the visit of the Dunbrody have been arranged through two European Interreg-funded projects, the Maritime Heritage Programme and Celtic Maritime Connections. Both are hosted by Milford Haven Port Authority, and aim to generate community and economic gains by capitalising on the maritime heritage of the region.

Seafair Haven 2006 will see up to 150 classic and traditional craft from Brittany, UK and Ireland “raiding” Haven communities, interspersed with races and expeditions and many opportunities for land-based visitors to view them at close range - an inaugural event which aims to be one to remember.

The 400 or so crew members will be split into four classes - Sail and Oar, Old Gaffers, Classic Bermudan and Large Traditional. All will be hosted during the Festival by local people with events and activities varying from Sea Shanty sessions to Welsh Cawl and music nights, designed to build connections between the visitors and communities and broaden the profile of the rich maritime heritage of Pembrokeshire.

The Seafair Haven 2006 parade of sail will be lead by the Dunbrody, which was built in 2001 and carries over 10,000 sq ft of sail and is usually moored in New Ross, Co. Wexford. On this, her maiden international voyage, she will be hosting civic receptions on board to help promote the Celtic Maritime Connections Project.

The original Dunbrody, built in Quebec for the Graves family of New Ross in 1845, carried thousands of Irish emigrants to the new world between 1845-1870, and her replica will be offering 60 sea-hardy souls a day a taste of what they went through when they made the trans-Atlantic voyage on a sailing around the Pembrokeshire Islands and coast.

The Dunbrody was primarily a cargo vessel and carried timber from Canada, cotton from the southern states of the USA and guano from Peru. The ship was fitted out with bunks and facilities for passengers desperate to escape the harrowing conditions at home.

From 1845 to 1851, between April and September, under the command of William John Williams of St. Davids, she carried passengers on her outward journeys to Canada and the USA. She usually carried 176 people but on one crossing, at the height of the Famine in 1847, she carried 313.

For more information about Seafair Haven 2006 or for details on the Dunbrody visit, contact the Seafair Haven Festival Office on 01646 696178.