The Galway Steamboat Company – 80 Years Aran Islands Service | Season 4 – Episode 87
Floats Nov 15, 2024
In the early 1870s, marine transport along Ireland’s west coast relied on sail-powered vessels, primarily the iconic “Galway Hookers” common to Galway Bay. For inshore transport, lightweight “currachs” — wooden-framed boats covered with animal skins or canvas — were used to ferry passengers, cargo and livestock between the mainland and the Aran Islands.
In 1871, a new era of steam transport began with the founding of the Galway Steamboat Company. Over the next 80 years, the company’s steam-powered paddle tugs and dedicated crews provided a vital lifeline to island communities, transforming passenger travel, transporting dry goods and livestock, offering towing services, and boosting the Galway Bay area’s economy through early tourism. West of the city of Galway lie the Aran Islands (Irish: Oileáin Árann), a group of three islands. With a population of around 3,000 in the 1870s, they had largely been bypassed by commercial passenger and cargo shipping—until the Galway Bay Steamboat Company began services.
Citie of the Tribes
Registered to the Galway Steamboat Company on December 24th 1872 the paddle steamer ‘Citie of the Tribe’s became the first steam-powered vessel to operate on Ireland’s west coast. Built at Yard No. 24 by Joseph T. Eltringham & Co. in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England and launched on August 17th 1872.
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She was a paddle tug measuring approximately 96 feet in length, 18 feet in beam, and 9 feet draught, of 117 gross tonnes. In addition to towing barques and other sailing vessels in and out of Galway Port, she was the first ship to offer a scheduled, though infrequent, time-tabled service to the Aran Islands. These services connected all three main islands, from west to east: Inishmore (Árainn/Inis Mór), the largest; Inishmaan (Inis Meáin), the second-largest; and Inisheer (Inis Oírr), the smallest.
SS Citie of the Tribes Specifications:
Commissioned: The Galway Bay Steamboat Company Co.
Shipyard: Joseph T. Eltringham & Co. South Shields England (Yard No. 24),
Laid down: 1873
Launched: August 17th 1872
Entered service:
Length: 96 ft
Beam: 18 ft
Draught: 9 ft
Tonnage: 117 GRT
Drive: 2 x paddle wheels
Power: 2 x side lever engines
According to the July 1875 timetable, when not occupied with commercial cargo transport and barge towing, she was also used for excursions to Kinvara, Ballyvaughan, the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, and occasionally to Kilkerrin Pier.
A July 1875 advertisement signed by John Cooley, secretary to the company offered the people of Galway and Dublin; “The cheapest, shortest and most enjoyably route for Tourists and health seekers to the far-famed Spa, Lisdoonvarna and the sublime scenery of the Coast of Clare, is per Dublin, per MGW Railway, Broadstone Station (Dublin) to Galway in about 3.5 hours (by limited mail), from thence per steamer ‘City of the Tribes’ to Ballyvaughan, ten miles, from thence via the Corkscrew road, per well-appointed cars, which run in connection with the steamer to Lisdoonvarna in one hour. Excursions during the season to the wild and romantic Isles of Arran and the celebrated Cliffs of Moher… passengers will reach Galway in time for the 4.15 train to Dublin.” ** In researching this story, we marvelled at this coordinated transport schedule for 1871 linking Dublin to Lisdoonvarna return. Could such seamless timetabling be achieved in 2024?
The Citie of the Tribes paddle steamer tug served Galway Bay and the Aran Islands for 30 years. In 1903, she was sold to Charles Duncan from Middlesbrough, England, and was eventually dismantled there in 1910.
SS Duras
In 1893, the long-serving Citie of the Tribes was succeeded by a new passenger and cargo vessel, the SS Duras, commissioned for the Galway Bay, North Clare, and Aran Islands trade. Named after the residence of the company’s chairman, the Duras was constructed of iron by JP Rennoldson & Sons Ltd in South Shields (Yard No. 146). She was launched on November 24, 1892, and completed in January 1893.
SS Duras Specifications:
Commissioned: The Galway Bay Steamboat Company Co.
Shipyard: JP Rennoldson & Sons Ltd in South Shields (Yard No. 146)
Laid down: 1891
Launched: 24th November 1892
Entered service: January 1893
Length: 95 ft 5”
Beam: 18 ft 1”
Draught: 9 ft 7”
Tonnage: 131GRT
Drive: two paddle wheels
Power: 2-cylinder 42hp steam engine & from 1921 6-cylinder 11 hp Halliday oil engine
During the summer, the SS Duras operated three sailings a week from Ballyvaughan in County Galway to the Aran Islands. The one-way fare to Aran was 3/- for saloon passengers and 2/6 for deck passengers, with bicycles traveling free of charge.
In 1891, the Galway Vindicator and Connaught Advertiser reported that the company was receiving £700 annually from the Congested Districts Board for its regular service to the Aran Islands. Established in 1891 by Arthur Balfour, the Congested Districts Board (C.D.B.) aimed to alleviate poverty and overcrowding in western Ireland. Funded by the Church of Ireland, it supported public works such as piers and ferry services to strengthen local economies and curb emigration.
The SS Duras operated until 1912, after which she was employed in towing sailing vessels out of Galway Bay and assisting with relief work until 1921. That year, she was sold to Frederick Palmer in Boston, Lincolnshire, and later passed through several other owners before being scrapped in Denmark in 1954.
SS Dún Aengus
In 1912, the SS Duras was replaced by the SS Dún Aengus, purchased with a £7,500 loan to the company from the Congested Districts Board. Named after a prehistoric hill fort on the Aran Islands, the SS Dún Aengus was 120 feet long, with a beam of 24 feet and a depth of 10 feet 6 inches. Weighing 234 gross tons, she was powered by a steam engine from Ross and Duncan of Glasgow.
In 1951, the ship was acquired by the semi-state company C.I.E. (Córas Iompair Éireann), which continued the year-round service to the Aran Islands. At that time, the Dún Aengus earned the distinction of being the oldest railway steamer in both Ireland and Britain.
Under the Aran Islands (Transport) Acts of 1936 and 1946, the government reached a deal with The Galway Steamboat Company to waive the outstanding loan amounts, with the condition that the vessel would be transferred to the government if the company stopped operating the service to the Aran Islands. However, this eventuality never occurred, and the SS Dún Aengus continued to operate until 1958.
SS Dún Aengus Specifications:
Commissioned: The Galway Bay Steamboat Company Co.
Laid down: 1911
Launched: 1912
Entered service: 1912
Length: 120 ft
Beam: 24 ft
Draught: 10 ft 6”
Tonnage: 234 GRT
Power: steam engine by Ross and Duncan of Glasgow
In an upcoming episode, we’ll share the story of the most famous of all the Aran Island ships, the MV Naomh Éanna (“St. Enda”). Built in 1958 at the Liffey Dockyard in Dublin, the ship served the Aran Islands route between 1958 and 1988 and is still fondly remembered by many today.
If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
Chetham Library Manchester
Galway Advertiser
Liffey Ships & Shipbuilding – Pat Sweeney
Limerick City Archives
Galway Bay Boat Tours
National Folklore Collection, UCD – Tomás Ó Muircheartaigh
National Library of Ireland
Steamboats Come to Galway – Tom Kenny
The Days of the MV Naomh Éanna, Ireland – Facebook page
Tyne Built Ships
