Dunbrody is a 458 tonne three-masted barque, 176 feet (53.7 metres) long. Her hull length is 120 ft. (36.6 m), she has a beam of 28 ft (8.5 m), a draft of 11.5 ft (3.5 m) and has a sail area of 10,100 square ft. (c. 940 sq. m.).
The present ship is a full scale sea-going replica of the original Dunbrody, built in Quebec in 1845 by Thomas Hamilton Oliver, an Irish emigrant from Co. Derry.
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, 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.
Dunbrody has been approved by the Irish Dept of Marine as a Class VI vessel
for coastal sailing and is being licenced to carry 60 passengers on day
sails. Dunbrody operates as a tourist attraction in New Ross for 48 weeks
every year and the remaining four weeks will be a scheduled annual day sail
programme.
| Mr. Sean Reidy, JFK Trust, South Quay, |
| New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland. |
| Tel: +353 (0)51 425239 |
Email: jfktrust@iol.ie |
| Fax: +353 (0)51 425240 |
Web: www.dunbrody.com |