Whale story

Sin scéal agus whale eile! Sin scéal agus whale eile!

The whaling based stories in the last edition of Irish Scene sparked a number of memories for some readers. The main story – Paddy’s whale of a scéal – about Dublin man James “Paddy” Hart who jumped ship in Albany and went on to become the skipper of the last whaling ship in Australia in Albany in 1978 who went to Japan with Greenpeace to try and protect them from being hunted was a ripper of a yarn according to several people. He died a couple of years ago but his daughter Angela – who got her copy of the

Fin Whale West Cork .

magazine on St. Patrick’s Day – enjoyed the piece. “Congratulations, you are the only one who has written such a an article without actually meeting and talking to Dad.,” she said. “It presents very well.” His story also resonated with another Albany woman who featured in Irish Scene not so long ago. “What a great story and man was Paddy,” said Patricia Heberle. The main story of last year’s September/ October edition of the magazine was about Patricia who was the chef de mission for Team Ireland in Japan (The WA story behind Ireland’s Olympic glory!). “I grew up around whaling as it was such a big part of life and the economy in Albany and some of my Dad’s mates worked at the whaling station. I was glad when they ceased it but it was hard on local families and there was a lot of pain for some time. Patricia is now based in Dublin and enjoying it there and while she won’t be leading Team Ireland to Paris in 2024 she

Fin Whales West Cork .

is now responsible for a new Performance Capability Lead division which she said does not have as much pressure and high workload but is very interesting. Another Dub with an indirect but still famous whaling story was the story about actor Noel Purcell who played an important character in the 1956 block buster Moby Dick, shot partly in Youghal, Co. Cork (Great tales of whales and Gaels). After Frank and Gerry recently had Purcell’s son on their Saturday morning Radio Fremantle show Celtic Rambles Irish Scene reached out to him. “Dad always credited his mother, my Grannie, for getting the role in ‘Moby Dick’,” Patrick Purcell told us. “When he told her he wanted to join the theatre, she said he should have a trade to fall back on if things didn’t work out. So he apprenticed and became a joiner/cabinet maker with Bex and Co, Dublin. He made the counters in Brown Thomas and Clery’s. So when they were casting for the Ship’s Carpenter, Dad was ideal, because he knew how to handle the tools and work wood. He could also act a bit!.” Meanwhile Fred Rea’s yarn about him and Tommy Makem involving a trade of a whale tooth (The whales tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the the tooth) brought back “treasured memories” for Irish Scene advertiser Glen McLeod. “I was at the ‘76 Makem and Clancy concert mentioned by Fred,” he said. “In fact, I remember Makem coming to Albert’s Tavern where the Quarefellas were playing. About as good as it gets except for the night Barney McKenna showed up with his banjo. I was lucky enough to be invited to stay for the unofficial session that went until 5am with Barney playing, joking and giving Alan Ferguson a few tips on the banjo. I also have a framed copy of the print of the Quarefellas with Fred’s piece. Many memories! Thank you for bringing them back!.” While there were several whaling related stories in that edition we discovered many more fascinating ones which we hope to bring to you in upcoming editions, starting with this offering by Limerick journalist Brian McLoughlin. We hope you will enjoy them!

Noel Purcell .

Paddy Hart . D.J. Gordon & Associates

(WA) Pty Ltd

ACCOUNTANTS & TAX AGENTS

SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Income Tax Returns • Business & Instalment

Activity Statements • Preparation & lodgement of objections to ATO assessments • GST and ABN registrations • Company Secretarial services • Bookkeeping Myles Gordon

LLB, FIPA

987 Wellington Street, West Perth WA 6005 Correspondence to: PO Box 480, West Perth WA 6872 E: djgordon@djgordon.net.au T: 08 9321 2266

When Ireland was a whaling nation BY BRIAN MCLOUGHLIN

There are no Moby Dick-like stories recorded for the whaling industry in Ireland and it’s probably not well-known that whaling was carried out in the country over a 100 year period. As far back as 1900 until 1925 with the exception of the Great War years 1914 to 1918 and a few scattered years in between, Ireland had an important whaling enterprise located on the West coast mainly in Blacksod Bay off the coast of County Mayo where a whaling station had been established by Norwegians. In the early 20th century the commercial whaling industry was important for meat and oils and in 1896 when the Norwegian authorities brought in stricter environmental controls and laws, many whaling stations in that country had to cease operations and the Norwegian whalers set their sights on other countries such as Ireland where the laws were less strict. That was how the first whaling station came to the West Coast of Ireland and in March 1908 was set up by Norwegian businessmen in County Mayo on Rusheen a tidal island near Iniskea South. After initial whaling operations were abandoned which had operated from Arranmore Island in West Donegal, whaling under the name of The Arranmore Whaling Company continued until 1922. The Blacksod station had some operational difficulties. Whales could only be brought up the slipway for two hours a day because of the tide and there was also conflict with some locals. Between 20 to 40 men were employed all from Iniskea South who wouldn’t allow people from the mainland or Iniskea North work at the station. All the North islanders were left with was just a foul smell from the station. Even in those days there were issues over wages and a worker strike eventually got wages increased to £1 per week which then was a very good wage considering that rent in the locality was about £5 per year. This led to a period of prosperity and a good living standard for the workers and their families. The year 1909 was a bonanza year for the station with 102 whales caught. The whale blubber and oil were exported back to Norway and bones and meat dried and milled into powder were also shipped to Norway for use as cattle meal and fertiliser. However only a few years later the number of whales caught decreased significantly and by 1915 the Arranmore Whaling Company had fallen into heavy debt and had to cease operations. Statistics show that during the station’s period of prosperity 125 blue whales were harpooned off Ireland at an average distance of 40

STOP LOOKING & START BOOKING!

FLY NOW, PAY LATER! British Travel now offer 2 forms of payment plans to suit everyone. You can pay off over 2 to 12 months. Lay by is available to anyone over the age of 18 years, including 457 or similar visa holders res@britishtravel.com.au

1300 857 434

www.britishtravel.com.au Australian Federation of Travel Agents Member: (AFTA) • ATAS - Member ABN 65 08 124 5098

miles offshore. In the same period 600 fin whales were harpooned which was 66% of total landings. Only six humpback whales were harpooned which is 1% which shows that this species was rare in Irish waters. In the meantime, Capt. Lorenz Bruun who had a boat involved in the Arranmore Whaling enterprise had set up his own Norwegian Irish whaling station on the Mullet Peninsula in Blacksod Bay employing 20 Norwegians and 30 Irish men. When World War I broke out in 1914 it brought whaling to a standstill resulting in the Norwegians returning home and the station becoming a petrol base for the British Navy until the war ended in 1918. Capt. Bruun had aspirations of trying to revive his whaling operations after the War, but the station was in a poor state of repair and a large part of it was burned in 1923. It was alleged that local men who were refused jobs started the fire. The following year on Christmas Day Capt. Bruun died and because of lack of demand for whale blubber and oils, the company closed its doors which also brought to an end Mayo’s days of industrial whaling. The setting up of the International Whaling Commission in 1931 and the Whale Fishery Act 1937 in Ireland was also instrumental in ending whaling. Despite the new Saturdays 3-5pm Join Oliver McNerney laws Norwegian whalers still hunted minke whale and basking shark during the Summer offshore from 1966 to 1976 until the Wildlife Act 1976 was introduced for further protection for whales. To this day there are still whale sightings offshore in Ireland seen by such as the Blasket Island Echo Marine An eclectic mix of some of the all time great singers, past and present. Featuring Irish & Australian artists, country music, songs from stage & Hollywood musicals, and great Irish Showbands from years gone by Call Oliver on 9297 1088 or text requests to 0450 459 217 VCA 88.5fm ANYTHING GOES Tours on their trips especially the minke whale which are 885fm.com.au Radio VCA is a not for profit local community station, and is run entirely by volunteers aged 18-80+ the most common sightings Still image from the film “Whaling Afloat and Ashore” . followed by fin whales, blue whales and sperm whales. There are records showing that a number of humpback whales were killed by whaling companies off the South-West coast during whaling activities. As a footnote, a film crew from London came to the County Mayo station and filmed the whaling operation there titled ‘Whaling Afloat and Ashore’.