On Monday 20th March 1961 when this picture was taken work was starting on the demolition of Monarch in the scrapyard of Haulbowline Industries in Cork. Not a lot has happened so far although if you take out your magnifying glass you will see that the engine room, docking/steering telegraphs on the bridge wings have already disappeared. Did they get saved? Did they subsequently grace the saloon bar of some Irish pub lending their own distinctive nautical flavour to the general ambience. Might they still be around somewhere today? Or were they just cut up along with the rest of the ship. And from the scrapyard’s point of view the price for scrap brass is generally higher than the price for scrap steel. So they had a value if popped into a smouldering cauldron and were melted down.
Following Tony McGinnity’s visit to the scrapyard earlier in the week on Friday 24th March 1961 the Dorset Evening Echo ran a piece about progress with the demolition of Monarch.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
This article was first published on 20th March 2021.
