RMS Tayleur



RMS Tayleur in full sail

Owner: Charles Moore & Company
Builder: William Rennie, Liverpool
Launched: 4 October 1853
Fate: Ran aground at Lambay Island on maiden voyage, 21 January 1854
General characteristics
Type: Clipper, iron hull
Length: 230 ft (70 m )
Beam: 40 ft (12 m)
Depth of hold: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Complement: 652 passengers and crew
Notes: 3 decks

RMS Tayleur was a full-rigged iron clipper ship chartered by the White Star Line. She was large, fast and technically advanced. She ran aground off Lambay Island and sank, on her maiden voyage, in 1854. Of more than 650 aboard, only 280 survived. She has been described as "the first Titanic".

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Diving



Display in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland

The remains of the wreck were rediscovered in 1959 by members of the Irish Sub-Aqua Club. Because the wreck is over 100 years old (166 as of 29 December 2019) a license to dive the site must be obtained from the Office of Public Works.

The wreck lies at 17 metres depth some 30m off the southeast corner of Lambay Island in a small indentation at 53°28'54"N 06°01'12"W. Substantial wreckage includes the hull, side plates, a donkey engine and the lower mast. The woodwork was salvaged shortly after the wreck. Crockery and several pieces of the wreck are on display at Newbridge House, Donabate.

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