Quilty Tourism

The Leon Story

Leon XIII Sailing into Local History

At the turn of the 20th century, before the advent of container ships, it was common for cargo to be transported by sail ships. It was in this context that in September 1907 a French sail ship out of Nantes called Leon XIII found itself on route from America to Ireland with a large consignment of wheat. As it neared the end of its journey, weather conditions started to deteriorate. Gale force winds and driving rain hindered the ship's ability to navigate its course. As it battled to sail southwards into the mouth of the Shannon Estuary, the ship found itself rudderless off Mutton Island in West Clare. In unfamiliar waters, and with the means of navigating the ship's position gone, the sailors were helpless to stop their ship from being swept northwards up the Clare coast.

Dawn Breaks on October 1st 1907

As dawn broke on the morning of October 1st 1907, the people of Quilty and surrounding areas saw the difficulties that the crew of the Leon XIII were facing. The ship had blown onto the reefs which lie one mile off shore from Quilty village. The crew of 22 sailors were seen clinging to the foredeck of the ship as it lay trapped on the reef, broken in two with much of its stern submerged below the stormy waters.

As the day wore on, there was no sign of the raging storm abating, leaving any attempt to rescue the crew impossible. Thus it has been said, that on the night of October 1st, every home in the area placed a lighted candle on their windowsills. There was little else that people could do but say a prayer for the sailors and hope that the men would somehow make it through the night until the storm eased and a rescue could be attempted.

Daybreak October 2nd 1907

At the break of day on October 2nd 1907, the storm was still raging and news of the ship had spread throughout the county. It was obvious to the many people who had gathered in the village, that the sailors could not spend another night on board the ship, as exposure to the elements would surely claim lives.

In Quilty and other fishing villages off the Clare coast at that time, currachs were used to fish, pick carrigeen moss and navigate around the coast. The style of currach typical to Quilty, was rowed by two to three men, had no sail and was shallow enough to manoeuvre easily in areas where reefs rendered larger boats useless.

Experienced fishermen knew that rowing a currach into a wave helped to keep the currach from capsizing in stormy waters. Hence, with no other rescue plan in sight, the first attempt to rescue the sailors was made with currachs. But each attempt made to launch the currachs failed.

At this point, the local coastguard attempted a rescue in a timber-keeled vessel. But it capsized, almost costing one of the coastguards his life. They didn't try again.

The French sailors could see the attempts being made to rescue them on shore. They in turn tried to launch a raft from the Leon XIII with a few sailors on top of it. But the raft started to blow out to sea. All on shore could see that the sailors on the raft would surely drown. There was nothing for it. Another attempt would have to be made to row the currachs out to the ship.

Heroism in Quilty

Three local fishermen, John Connors, John Clancy and Tom Stack, as well as several others, eventually succeeded in launching their small currachs and immediately set about rescuing the sailors. One of the currachs was overturned and its occupants thrown into the sea. But the other fishermen managed to navigate through the storm to rescue their neighbours from the sea. During the course of the next hour, the fishermen from Quilty through feats of extraordinary skill and courage managed to rescue most of the French sailors and land them safely ashore.

The Captain, who had broken his leg, and a few other members of the crew chose to remain on board. On the following day, October 3rd, the sea had calmed enough to enable a naval vessel from Cobh to take the remaining sailors off the ship (www.quiltyns.net).

The Result - "Stella Maris - Star of The Sea"

Thanks to the reporting of the fishermen's brave efforts, a trust was successfully set up which funded the building of a church in the village with contributions coming from people at home and abroad. The church was completed in 1911 and dedicated to "Our Lady Star of Sea". Its distinctive round tower still draws locals and visitors alike to the church and stands as a permanent reminder of the fishermen whose courage helped to build it.