The 175th anniversary of the Poulnasherry Bay ferry disaster of 1849 will be marked locally by the Querrin community on Sunday, February 2, at the Ferry Fundraising Run for Querrin Schoolhouse.
Tragedy occurred at Cammoge Point on the Bay on December 12, 1849, when a boat, returning from Kilrush sank claiming the lives of forty-one people including 12 children who drowned just yards from their destination.
The majority of those on board were famine destitute people hoping to be admitted to the workhouse at Kilrush. Local amateur historian, Robert Brown has chronicled the disaster in his history blog on the Kilkee Heritage page of clareheritage.org.
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Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.