Special 50th-anniversary mass in memory of the crew of the Evelyn Marie tragedy

A special mass will be held this week in memory of the crew of the Evelyn Marie, who were lost at sea 50 years ago.

The Evelyn Marie MFV, a 65-foot, £100,000 trawler sunk off Malinbeg around 7pm on Tuesday, January 7, 1975, running into rocks at Rathlín O’Beirne Island and struck by a freak wave, killing all six men on board. The mass will be held in St Columba’s Church, Acres, Burtonport, on Tuesday, January 7, at 12 midday.

Those who lost their lives were Patrick Bonner (33), skipper, from Caravan Road, Dungloe, survived by his wife Mary and four children. Hugh Gallagher (35), Aphort, Arranmore, who was married to Mary Theresa with five children - Annette (7), Charles (6), Marian (5), Helena (4) and Deirdre (3), with twins Andrew and Edward on the way - they arrived that April.

Johnny O’Donnell (27), Burtonport, was married to Kathleen (neé Green from Crolly) and they had two children and 27-year-old Thomas Hamm, a native of Longford town, based in Burtonport and he and his wife Julia (neé Bonner) were expecting their first child.

Joe O’Donnell (21) was engaged to be married to Miss Connie McCole, Dungloe. His brother Billy (26), who was normally a member of the crew, did not travel as he had been married just two weeks beforehand and was just back from honeymoon, although he joined in the search. Twenty-four-year-old Roland Faughnan, a native of Belleek, Co Fermanagh, who was living in Burtonport, was married to Sylvia (neé Breslin from Lackenagh) and had a five-month-old baby daughter, Donna.

“Another trawler, rushing to her assistance from nearby, found no trace of the crew as they frantically scanned the choppy waves in the vicinity,” The Donegal Democrat reported on Friday, January 10, 1975.

“The tragic accident happened as the Evelyn Marie was returning to Killybegs with her herring catch, and the alarm was raised by the other trawler, Summer Star, whose crew watched helplessly as the stricken vessel disappeared beneath the waves before they could reach her.”

The Evelyn Marie, a steel-hulled vessel, was launched at Killybegs Boatyard in December 1973; fully equipped with the latest emergency and fishing equipment and carried inflatable lifeboats and survival gear.

“However, it was thought that the suddenness with which she sank after being washed off the rock which holed her, left the crew no time to make use of the gear,” the Democrat added.

“All six men aboard had skippers' certificates and the wooden-hulled boat was fully equipped with the latest emergency and fishing equipment,” wrote The Derry Journal that same day. “She was one of a fleet of 70 based in Killybegs for the herring season. She set sail on Sunday morning and is reported to have had a catch of 130 cran of herring on board when she foundered.

“At the time of the tragedy the boat was fishing in pair with the Summer Star, her sister ship, skippered by Mr Tony Gallagher. They heard Evelyn Marie's ‘Mayday: ‘We are sinking fast’ call and rushed to the scene.

“The flares from other trawlers which rushed to the area alerted the Arranmore lifeboat, which put to sea and joined in the search, which was concentrated around Rathlin O'Beirne island. The skipper of the Summer Star told how he saw the broken trawler sinking after picking up the Mayday call from it.

“Mr Tony Gallagher said: ‘I heard the skipper, Paddy Bonner's voice coming over the radio. I can't remember exactly what he said because I am still very shocked about everything that happened. I knew immediately they were in serious trouble, but I was about a mile and a half away. I saw the boat going down, It was a terrible sight and I will never forget it. She just went down so quickly there was nothing we could do.’”

Throughout Wednesday, a small armada of trawlers, an army helicopter, numerous small fishing boats and the lifeguard scoured the area, while hundreds searched on foot along the shore - but by nightfall, only two bodies had been discovered.

The remains of Roland Faughnan and those of John Óg O'Donnell were the only two found. They were interred on the Friday after Requiem Mass in St. Columba's Church, Burtonport, celebrated by Rev D McDyer, PP. Mr O'Donnell was buried at Annagry and Mr Faughnan at Cruit. The funerals were attended by thousands of mourners amongst whom was Mr Pat Murphy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture. The Most Rev Dr McFeely, Bishop of Raphoe, visited the Burtonport district and Arranmore Island and attempted to speak "words of consolation to the stricken families."

Over the weekend, divers located the sunken trawler in 140 feet of water off Rathlín O’Beirne Island and disconnected part of the craft to bring it to the surface in the hope that those still missing might’ve been trapped in the wheelhouse. Searches of the trawler thereafter proved similarly fruitless.

Rough seas hampered the search on the bay but “trawler hands are putting everything at risk in a grim bid to have the anguish of the bereaved families assuaged,” the Democrat reported on Friday, January 17.

“Killybegs is still stunned by the disaster. Trawlers from Killybegs and Burtonport accompanied by helicopters search the seas daily and fishing from both ports is still suspended. Garda sub-aqua divers are based close to the scene of the disaster and they have made several dives in the vicinity of where the trawler went down.

“Members of the Atlantic Sub-Aqua Club, based at Killybegs, Bob Bowman, Noble Morrow and Richard Daly have done Trojan work in the search. Many tributes have been paid to Mr Joseph Murrin, chairman of Killybegs Fishermen's Association, who has co-ordinated all searches since the disaster happened and for help, he has given in so many other ways.

“Mr Murrin remained in the office all Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and all day Wednesday answering queries coming in from all over the world in addition to directing the searches on land and sea.”

Mr Patrick Sweeney, chairman of the Burtonport Fishermen's Co-operative, said: “They were the most efficient and capable crew you could get but the sea is a treacherous fox and tragedies like this happen.”

At the time, it was the largest sea tragedy since the Arranmore Disaster, where 19 people from Arranmore Island lost their lives in a boating accident on Saturday, November 9, 1935. They were on the last leg from Burtonport and headed for home when travelling from their seasonal potato-picking work in Scotland when the yawl ran up on a rock, throwing the passengers backwards into the sea, and tearing a hole in the keel.

Nine made it onto the keel from the water, but a moment later, the yawl turned over and threw them off again. There was only one survivor, 26-year-old Patrick Gallagher, who clung to the boat for 15 hours, having lost his father, four brothers and two sisters.

Less than two years after the Evelyn Marie, history tragically repeated itself, as the Carraig Una, which had left Burtonport, met its end on November 23, 1976, on the same rocks at Rathlín O’Beirne Island.

Ted Carbery (27) and his brother-in-law John Boyle (18), Anthony McLaughlin (18), Michael Coyle (22) and Doalty O’Donnell (23) perished. Only the remains of Ted Carbery and John Boyle were found.

No formal enquiry had been carried out into the Evelyn Marie and Carraig Una sinkings and the Government was also refusing to release the details of the findings of two preliminary enquiries, with Helena Gallagher, a daughter of Hughie who died in 1975, pushing the case for an RTÉ documentary, Searching for Answers, which aired at the time of the 35th anniversary.

The communities of Killybegs and Burtonport were left grief-stricken again five years later when the Skifjord went down on October 31, 1981, sinking after striking a reef off Burtonport.

Skipper Francis Byrne (40), his son James (16), Desmond McGovern (22) from Mayo, Jimmy Laverty (20) from Ballycastle, Co Antrim, and Dubliner Tony O’Brien (21) lost their lives in the tragedy. Four other crew members - Gerry Laverty (26) from Dunkineely, John McGuinness (19) from Killybegs, Eamonn Mullin (29) also from Killybegs and the boat’s chef Standish O’Grady (33) from Dublin - survived the catastrophe.

“As we will recall, we lost six fine young men in this terrible fishing tragedy,” David Alcorn Jnr, Burtonport, ahead of Tuesday’s 50th-anniversary mass in memory of those lost on the Evelyn Marie, said this week.

“To remember all those from this area lost at sea and in particular the Evelyn Marie this year, four special large candles have been erected near the remembrance garden at the end of the County Council car park. We are most grateful to the Christmas Lights Committee for erecting these candles in this particular Christmas and New Year. All those at the mass are invited to go to the Community Centre after mass for tea and a chat afterwards.”