In 1888 Wexford masters skippered the following ships;
'Riot' by Moses Boggan;
'Baton' by Clem Cox;
'Shamrock' by John Hayes;
‘Atlas' by Thomas Bolger;
'Topaz' by James Murphy;
'Industry' by Ed.Tyrrell;
'Friends' by Wm. Swan, William St.;
'Tempest' by M. Foley;
'Express' by L. Murphy;
'Ellen' by John Neill;
‘Wexford' by James Blake, Parnell St.;
'Liberation' by James Redmond, New St.;
'S S Belle' by Sylvester Brien, The Faythe;
'Seabird' by Laurence Busher, The Faythe;
'Kangatira' by Patrick Doyle, Maudlintown;
'Alice Eleanor' by John Walsh, King St.;
'Vivid' by Thos. Neill, The Faythe;
'John Wade' by Joseph Murphy, The Faythe;
'Commerce' by James Murphy, Parnell St.;
'Lucinda Jayne' by Pat Carty, The Faythe;
'Samuel Dixon' by Joseph Cousins;
'Denis Carthy' by John Hutchinson, Henrietta St.;
'Charles Walker' by Michael Rouke, Coopers Terrace, (location unknown);
'Antelope' by Edward Clancy, Michael St.
In 1885 'The Antelope' became the last Wexford-built schooner. She was constructed from the timbers of an American ship of the same name that had broken up off the Saltees.
As the nineteenth century closed, the stately schooner began to die out, 'though many still retained in service and would do so for years to come.
Wexford, too, was changing. The various land reclamation schemes had greatly altered the face of the harbour and the railway had changed the aspect of the quays. As Seamus Delaney remarks in "Going Deepwater", no one could now fail to recognise Wexford as a major port. The very expressions of the retired mariners gave the town a "salty air. " The floor to them was always the deck and they moved astern rather than backwards.
The principal shipowners also changed. Devereux, who had dominated the schooner trade, sold many of his ships in the early 1880s, and with the death of Richard Devereux in 1883 the stage was set for the entry of a new principal player.
Into that role stepped James Stafford. He purchased his first two schooners, "Mary Gertrude" and "Zion Hill" in 1891. To these he added; "Vivid," "Glynn " and "Denis Carthy" Stafford’s were not solely involved in shipping.
Among their other business ventures were a provisions store and a coal distribution depot. Much of the property owned by them had previously been in the possession of Devereux. Stafford’s bought their first
steamships in 1919 for the cross-channel route and by the 1930s they would have one of the most modern steam-powered fleets in the British Isles.
Coasting - The Steamer Days
The opening year of the new century saw tragedy on the waters of Wexford Harbour. On September 14th, 1900, a race meeting was held on the reclaimed land of the North Slob at Ardcavan. As the only land route to the races was via the bridge then standing at Carcur, many of the trawler owners and skippers saw a means of supplementing their fishing income and they operated a ferry service from the quay. One such boat was the "Dolphin. " On one of her last trips of the day she set out from the quay at about 3.00
p.m. with 36 passengers. As there was no landing jetty at Ardcavan, the trawlers took a small boat in tow that was used to land people at the Slobs. This was done in relays and the first group of 14 people from the "Dolphin" went ashore safely at 3.30. On its next trip, 22 people crowded into the small boat and set out for land and a day of fun at the races. Tragically, in those few hundred yards to shore the boat was lying low in the water due to the large crowd on board.
Because of this, some water lapped over her side, for some reason this caused a panic among passengers.
Someone stood up in the boat, which caused it to capsize, throwing men, women and children into the waters of Wexford Harbour. The crowds lining the bay were quick to jump to their assistance and most were rescued. On that fateful day, seven were drowned.
The dead were: Denis and Catherine Kenny, a young married couple from High Street; Twenty year old Mary Furlong from William Street who was soon to be married; William Duggan of Carrigeen Street who was the Bishops coachman; Patrick Doyle from Distillery Road; William and Martin Blake from the Faythe, both of whom sailed deep-sea from Wexford Port. It was ironic that these two men who safely sailed the oceans of the world should die in the waters of their home harbour.
The Wexford of the early 1900s was described by Bulfin in "Rambles in Eirinn" as "a town that works and prospers. . . that enjoys life and minds its business. " He goes on to record the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the town, "a seaport for many ages." On the shipping front things were not so bright,
"There is a schooner fleet in existence but its fortunes are none of the brightest. "
The Harbour Commissioners were still hard at work despite the declining trade of the port and in the minutes of May 4th., 1905, they passed a motion that they purchase the interest in The Dockyard for
£450.
In the same year, a Mr. Hughes was fined for travelling at the incredible speed of 12 m.p.h. along Wexford Quays in his motor car.
The major industries of the town in 1906 were recorded as
The Foundries employing 600;
The Distillery with 50;
The Hat Factory
