The south Wexford coroner, Mr Jimmy Murphy, had an unusual task to perform on Friday when he inquired into the deaths of 24 sailors in an explosion on the SS Ardmore off the south-east coast during the second World War.
The inquest, which he described as unique, was held with the special permission of the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, under Section 23 of the Coroners Act.
The seamen ranged in age from 18 to 65. Most were from Cork and Dublin, with two from Liverpool and one from south Wales.
The inquest was attended by Mr James Power from Cork, who was born three months after the Ardmore went down on November 12th, 1940. His father and uncle were on board. When his mother wished to remarry some time after the tragedy she was unable to do so because her husband's death had not been registered. This was done later.
The significance of the case is that the deaths of the men can now, for the first time, be formally registered following the jury's verdict that they had died as the result of an explosion on board the Ardmore off the Great Saltee Island. Three of the bodies were subsequently washed ashore in Wales but the others were never recovered. Only two were registered and the others were consigned to the unresolved category of "missing, presumed dead".
There was no medical evidence at the inquest and only one witness, Mr Peter Mulvaney from Clontarf, Dublin, a law graduate who became interested in the case in 1986.
He embarked on a private investigation into the fate of the SS Ardmore, which left Cork for Fishguard at 10 p.m. on November 11th with a cargo of live animals.
By chance Mr Eugene Kehoe, a diver from Kilmore Quay, discovered the wreck of a ship on the seabed off the Great Saltee Island in the summer of 1995. Mr Mulvaney became aware of the find in January 1998 and, following a meeting with Mr Kehoe, was able to confirm from photographs and the original plans of the Ardmore that it was, indeed, the wreck. Mr Mulvaney told the inquest he had concluded from his research that the vessel had suffered a large explosion to its midsection where the boilers were located. The explosion caused it to sink immediately, trapping its crew.
Irish Intelligence records dated August 8th, 1940, indicated that a German aircraft was seen laying magnetic mines off the Keeragh Islands and the Saltee Islands.
The current position of the wreck means that when it went down, the Ardmore was inside Irish territorial waters, rebutting the previous presumption that it was not, according to Mr Mulvaney. In official files, the loss of the Ardmore is attributed to "belligerent" action and Mr Mulvaney told the inquest he believed the deaths of the crew members were due to warfare.
Since 1940, only two of the deaths have been registered under Section 4 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act of 1972 - that of James Power (28) of 126 Blackwater Road, Cork, and Edward Bruland (57) of Convent Place, Passage West, Cork.
Mr Mulvaney pointed out, however, that the registrations were invalid since the Act covered only deaths within Irish waters and it was presumed at the time they had died in foreign waters.
A large number of seamen lost as a result of "belligerent action" on other Irish vessels between 1939 and 1946 also never had their deaths registered at the time. To date only nine out of a total of 150 have been registered.
The Government made no claim against the German government arising from the loss of the Ardmore. Claims were made in relation to other vessels and, in a small number of cases, liability was accepted and compensation recovered.
After the inquest, Mr Mulvaney said he believed the verdict had significant implications for the Government and for maritime law. "The whole issue of the non-registration of maritime deaths will not go away," he said.
Irish Ferries, in a statement, said the wreck should be preserved in deference to those who were lost and their surviving families.
