PART TWO:  Tommy Cunningham, top skipper of Killybegs.

Part one of this two-part blog was posted recently.  You will remember that the idea for the blog arose from the posting by Maeve McGowan of a photo of seven Killybegs women taken at the former ‘Ice Plant’ on Conlin Road.  That photo included Cassie Cunningham of Spout Street, Killybegs, whose father, James Hegarty, was the subject of the first part.  Cassie’s husband, Tommy Cunningham of Spout Street is the subject of this part two.

In 1928 at age 23, Cassie Hegarty of Derrylahan married Tommy Cunningham of Spout Street, Killybegs, and raised their family there.  It is probable that she met Tommy while working in the fish industry in Killybegs. There was a big herring fishing in 1928, and workers would have been drawn in from all around.  Tommy Cunningham was one of three brothers who lived in adjacent houses on Spout Street, the name now gentrified into ‘St Catherine’s Road.  He was an uncle of Gerard Cunningham of Church Road, Killybegs; Joey Cunningham, Kilcar; and Jimmy and Paddy Cunningham of Killybegs.  The Cunninghams were a fishing family, and in the early years of the 20^th century were always on the water in Killybegs harbour. These activities, sailing in Regattas, and so on, brought tragedy to the family, as two of Tommy’s brothers, Hugh, (14), and Patrick, (22), drowned in boating accidents in 1902 and in 1908 respectively.  John Crowley, a crewman on the CDB steamer, Granuaile, fell in at Killybegs pier in October of the same year and although taken out alive, died later.

To America

Tommy’s father, Patrick Cunningham, spent some time in America in his early years and returned to Killybegs after a short time.  On his return in 1905 he took over one of the CDB Zulus, the St Patrick, with his son, Tommy, then aged about 19, as one of the crewmen. They were successful with this boat, and in 1908 Patrick applied for a new vessel.  This was delivered from the Killybegs Boatyard in 1908. Named St Patrick II.  This was the first sea-going boat built in the home yard for a Killybegs man, and she cost £362 17s 6d complete with gear. A visiting delegation, including the Bishop of Ross, Most Rev Dr Kelly, was conducted around the Boatyard on the 4^th May and saw the finishing touches being put to the St Patrick II. 

The summer herring fishing was going well, with 30 cross-channel steam drifters and 20 sail boats working out of Killybegs. These vessels landed a total of 300 crans on the 19^th May, so Patrick must have been very anxious to take over his new boat.  She was formally handed over to him on the 21^st May 1908.  That the St Patrick II did not cash in on the big fishing of 1908-09 is indicated by the fact that the boat was given up in March 1909.  For the ten months fishing the St Patrick II grossed £183 17s 7d.  Why did the crew of the St Patrick II pull out of the fishing after so short a time?  At this period these relatively small sailing Zulus of the Donegal fishermen were being outfished on a large scale by the visiting Scottish and English steam-powered vessels. The powered boats were first on the ‘grounds’ and first back in port with their catches.  The Irish sailboats such as the St Patrick II were unable to compete, leading to discouragement and despondency.  The drowning of his eldest son in July of that same year must have been a devastating blow to Patrick and his family – the second son drowned in the same harbour.

Powered boats

The days of the sailing Zulus were fast coming to an end, and the CDB started to plan for powered boats. The first fishing boat powered with an oil engine was the Ovoca, built by Tyrrells in 1907, and was sent to the Killybegs fishery in the spring of 1908.  This vessel did very well, and was able to outfish the British boats, not to mention the Irish sail boats. The CDB soon got to work and their first motor boat, the Gola, was launched from the Killybegs Yard in 1910.  She was about 52 feet overall, and fitted with a Dan oil engine.  Patrick Cunningham now fades from the scene, and his son Tommy comes into the record.  When he left the St Patrick II in June 1909, Tommy disappears from the record for four years. He turns up again in 1913 when he took over the very troublesome motor boat, the Harvest Star. 

This 61ft vessel was built in Killybegs in 1911 with two engines, both different makes.  In the early days of the motor engines they were all unreliable, and this was an attempt to have at least one engine working if the other failed.  This plan caused endless trouble for that boat.  Tommy and his crew started on the Harvest Star on 2^nd July 1913, but such were the failures of the engines that after only three and a half months the owners (the CDB) decided to remove both engines and fit one unit.  While this work was under way Tommy and crew were allocated one of the old sailing Zulus, the St Marcellinus.  Seemingly this plan did not work out, and they were given the motor boat Gola, in December of the same year.  This was another troublesome vessel, as the Dan was then a temperamental engine, but Tommy fished her for the winter herring season.  The Harvest Star, now with one new engine, was ready for the May 1914 season, and Tommy & co took her to sea again. 

Tragedy strikes again.

Things seemed to go well, except that tragedy struck again when one of the crew, Mick Keeney, a next door neighbour of Tommy’s on Spout Street, was drowned.   His place was taken by Frank O’Hara, Killybegs, a playing member of Killybegs Emeralds football club.  Frank would be killed in 1917 when he sustained head injuries when a lifeboat fell on him on board H.M.A.S. Platypus, in Killybegs harbour.   Tommy took the Harvest Star again for the 1915 season, but the CDB had by then decided to sell off their share boats.  The Harvest Star was valued at £624, and £148 10s. for her gear, and so Tommy and a neighbour from Spout Street, John Logue, bought the vessel and gear at that valuation.   From this time the Harvest Star and her crew fade from view, and although fish prices went up dramatically during the War, no record of Tommy or the boat has turned up to date.  The post-war depression of fish prices put very many fishermen with fishery loans out of business, though Tommy Cunningham and Logue do not appear on defaulters’ lists.  It would appear, however that the Harvest Star reverted to the CDB, and then to the Department of Fisheries after 1922.   She was recorded as lying on the beach at Meevagh in 1932, and was sold as scrap for one pound, ten shillings.

The sailmaker

Tommy enters the books again as an employee or contractor at Killybegs Boatyard as a sail-maker and rigger, from 1933 to 1937.  This was the period when the Yard was turning out small boats in the 30ft plus range, designed for trawling and drifting. Tommy’s pay for each boat amounted to ten shillings at first, rising to one pound, five shillings later.   Although these boats were powered by engines, no fishermen would accept a vessel without a full set of sails.  One of Tommy’s last jobs for the Yard was making the sails and rigging out the Naomh Ruaidhri (pronounced ‘Rory’) in 1935.  This vessel was built for Thomas Brosnan of Dingle, who was one of the pioneering skippers who came to Killybegs in 1935, helping to revive the white-fish scene in the port.  Thomas Brosnan was the father of Tom Brosnan of Killybegs.

At this time James McLeod, a young Scotsman, came to Killybegs from Belfast.  A Merchant Navy man, and knowing nothing of fishing at that time, he soon picked up local fishery knowledge. He was mentored first by Francie McCallig (great grandfather of Cian Brosnan), and by Tommy Cunningham.  Soon, James and a shore-based partner owned three different boats, (the Martha Helen, Jeanette, and Pursuit) and, needing skippers, Tommy Cunningham was a perfect choice for one of them.  When McLeod went over to Scotland to bring back the Jeanette in 1937 Tommy skippered the Martha Helen.  Then, James went off to join the Merchant Navy again when the War began, and Tommy took over the Martha Helen once more.  It was at the end of this War period that Tommy suffered a horrendous injury on that same boat in July 1945 – both his legs broken when he got caught in the winch and ropes. He lay in the Sheil Hospital in Ballyshannon, in a critical condition, for some weeks, and although severely injured he recovered almost completely.

The Naomh Simon

The Mary Buchan was a well-known boat in Donegal, but her sister ship, the Naomh Simon not so.  This boat was built in Meevagh but there were no takers for her when she was completed in 1947.  So, she was put out at first as a kind of research boat, sent to various parts of the coast trying out different types of gear.   She spent some time in Murrisk, Co. Mayo.  Later, Tommy Cunningham was selected as her skipper and, following a visit to Dingle in May 1950, the boat headed back to Killybegs.   The weather worsened, and the Naomh Simon went into a creek on the Clare coast where she dropped anchor.  The storm was such that the anchor chain broke, and they were driven on the rocks.  The crew consisted of Barney McLaughlin and Benny Moore, and after some time they succeeded in getting the boat free of the rocks.  The ‘magnificent seamanship’ of Tommy Cunningham was cited as the main factor in saving boat and crew.  He was at this time 64 years of age, and nearing the end of his active career.  Among the skippers of Killybegs, Tommy must be considered one of the best, in an era when such skilled men were taken for granted.