Edmond

The Edmond was a chartered passenger sailing vessel that sank off the coast of Kilkee, County Clare on 19 November 1850. It was built in 1833 in Granville, Nova Scotia, a small community near Annapolis Royal, a town that became famous for wooden shipbuilding during the 1800s. At the time of the disaster it was owned by John Arnott and George Cannock, who co-owned the Arnotts department store. Today there is a commemorative plaque engraved on the sea wall just beside the wreck site, in an area now known as Edmond Point. Background Due to the Great Irish Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1852, thousands of people emigrated from Ireland every week on ships known as "coffin ships". During these years Limerick port was the point of emigration for many people from counties Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. One of the ships that carried people across the Atlantic was the 3-masted barque Edmond. Normally based in London, the ship was chartered for the year by Limerick businessman, John McDonnell. As 1850 was beginning to draw to a close, and as the weather became more and more dangerous, ships were still crossing due to the demand for passage to the New World. Sinking Voyage