Last wishes: The closest relatives of Galway harbour master Frank Sheridan have scattered his ashes, writes Lorna Siggins
He had done this journey many times before, his working timetable governed solely by the tide. Often it was in the dead of night or before the dawn, and he would have seen moons waxing and waning, and sunsets burning up the sky over Aran to the west.
Last Sunday, Captain Frank Wheatley Sheridan made his last trip out to the Galway pilot station, when his ashes were scattered, along with red roses, on Galway Bay.
The fix was 53 degrees 14.6 minutes North, 009 degrees 03.4 minutes West, when the flotilla of yachts, pilot boats and angling craft dropped their engines. At this point, just off Mutton Island, Galway pilots normally transfer from their craft to bigger ships to guide them into port, through a channel which is confused by the fickle River Corrib.
A stiff south-westerly had been forecast, but in the event there were only several showers to cope with as the fleet,including the Galway inshore lifeboat, Dóchas, followed Captain Sheridan's yacht, Finavarra. On board the yacht were his closest relatives, and an urn wrapped in the navigational flag "H", which stands for "we have a pilot on board". The tall cloaked figure on deck was Rev Patrick Towers, rector of St Nicholas's Collegiate Church in Galway.
It was just over four months since the clergyman officiated at Captain Sheridan's funeral. His sudden death at the age of 65 had taken everyone by surprise. Though born in Achill, Co Mayo, the captain had spent much of his life in the neighbouring county, master of the port and a keen sailor and founder of the RNLI inshore lifeboat station.
Frank Sheridan went to sea in his early teens, joining his first ship at the age of 16. He served for many years on tankers with British Petroleum, and was 30 when he became a ship's master. He worked on the Commissioners of Irish Lights tender,Granuaile, and came to Galway to manage the Tynagh Mines terminal. In 1978 he was appointed a harbour pilot and subsequently became harbour master.
Now, as then at the funeral, Rev Towers recalled the close association between St Nicholas's church and the sea - not just the fact that it was named after the patron saint of sailors, but also that it had been a home for mariners of many nationalities. Its distinctive spire over the city skyline served as a transit point for ships entering the port.
Speaking through a hand-held VHF radio, Rev Towers remembered the life of the captain, the lives of those "mercantile heroes" like him, and the pilots who steer ships into safe harbour.
He asked for protection for all those on the sea, he gave thanks for those "snatched from the dangers of the deep", and he prayed for those who had not been so fortunate.
The clergyman's words were broadcast on VHF channel 6, the intership frequency, and there was then a silence as the urn was opened. "We commit to the oceans the remains of Frank. Earth to earth, dust to dust, sea to sea," Rev Towers said, as each of the four sons, Stephen, Paul, Robert and Capt Brian, scattered their father's ashes on the Atlantic. Then they handed the plate on to their uncles, Ken and Captain Gordon Sheridan, and the late captain's first cousin, also Brian.
The urn was closed again - the remaining ashes to be buried with the captain's parents,Thomas and Muriel, at Dugort on Achill.
Watching from an boat close by were 10 young participants, all clad in life jackets, the captain's grandchildren - Nuala, Shane, Kevin, Keith, Blain, Claire, Aimee, Jack, Eve and Tom. After the prayers they dropped 10 red roses on the water. The flowers appeared to form a mosaic on the gentle swell.
The Finavarra swung around, and rain mixed with tears as the fleet headed for home. Several of the captain's grandchildren stood fixed on the deck, looking back at that pilot station - or scanning the horizon for a ship that had just come in.
