ss great eastern was captained by captain robert halpin. he was bor & raised in wicklow town and apparently was one at the top if his game too. (i think he once lived in tinakeely house, rathnew).
On one of his first transstlantic cable pulling assignment (mid 2860s), the end of the cable ‘got lost’ somewher past midway point in north atlantic.
He returned to that very same area of ocean some months later and actually somehow found the submerged cable and completed the cable link from valentia island to new foundand!
Apparently the ship was scuttled at liverpool docks and its mast is supposed to still fly over anfield’s kop to this very day!

Brilliant!

Still identifiably a ship from within, though-when compared with the Cunards of just three decades later (Lusitania, Mauretania etc.) the massive progress in shipbuilding and interior design over that time frame is incomprehensibly vast. (Contrary to popular lore, the Olympics, Titanic etc., weren’t in the least pioneering in their design, just big and well appointed).

She was, like many of Brunel’s designs, light years ahead of her time, though. She could carry 4000 passengers in varying degrees of comfort, and by the time she was pictured in Arklow had spent years laying submarine cables (including the first transatlantic telegraph cable).

When she was eventually scrapped in 1890, it took almost two years to strip her down. She was by then a relic who couldn’t find a buyer, and had been eclipsed by the next generation of ocean going liners.

The only part left of her is the flag pole at anfield.

The Great Eastern was also used to lay one of the first trans-Atlantic cables. Earlier attempts had to use two ships.

My current address is Brunel house, e143tr London. I live in one of the buildings where parts of the ship were built, i over look the site where the ship was launched from, it’s 20 feet from my door, one of the anchors is on site also. There is a museum nearby that I must visit as Brunel did absolutely loads of really cool stuff

1860’s and not 2860’s – sorry for typo!

Wow, amazing!

My grandfather was a leading seaman on the great eastern. From Coolgreany Co Wexford. Check out the maritime museum in Arklow for his discharge papers and a piece of the transatlantic cable.