Ouzel Galley
Encyclopedia
The Ouzel Galley was an Irish
merchant ship that set sail from Dublin in the late seventeenth century and was presumed lost with all hands
when she failed to return within the next three years. After a further two years had elapsed, however, she mysteriously reappeared with her full complement of crew and a valuable cargo of spices, exotic goods and, it is said, piratical
spoils. The ship has entered Irish folklore, and her unexplained disappearance and unexpected reappearance are still the subject of a number of conspiracy theories
.
in Dublin under the command of Capt Eoghan Massey of Waterford
. Her destination, it was supposed at the time, was the port of Smyrna
in the Ottoman Empire
(now İzmir
in Turkey
), where the vessel’s owners - the Dublin shipping company of Ferris, Twigg & Cash - intended her to engage in a trading mission before returning to Dublin the following year. The Ouzel, however, did not return as scheduled; nor was she seen the year after that. When a third year passed without any sign of her or her crew, it was generally assumed by the people of Dublin that she had been lost at sea with all hands.
In 1698 a panel comprising the city’s most eminent merchants was set up to settle the question of insurance. The panel’s ruling was that the ship had indeed been lost and that its owners and insurers should receive their due compensation. The galley’s complement of thirty-seven crew and three officers were declared dead and the insurance was paid out.
n corsair
s on its outward journey. The crew were taken to North Africa, where they were forced to man the ship while their new masters engaged in acts of piracy against merchant vessels returning from the Caribbean
or plying the lucrative Mediterranean
shipping lanes. After five years of captivity, however, Capt Massey and his men took advantage of a drunken carousal to free themselves and retake the Ouzel, which they then promptly sailed back to Dublin, its hold still full of the pirates’ booty.
In the late eighteenth century it was illegal for Irish ships to trade in the West Indies, so it is quite possible that Smyrna was falsely declared as the ship’s destination and Captain Massey sailed to the Caribbean with every intention of trading honestly. In those days the West Indies was notorious for its piracy, and Irishmen are known to have engaged in the practice, both willingly and unwillingly.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the ownership of the Ouzel’s cargo became a matter of dispute. As plunder, it could not be legally divided amongst the crew. The arbitration body which had settled the question of insurance in 1698 was reconvened to inquire into the matter. Later accounts recall how the panel decided that all monies remaining after the ship’s owners and insurers had been properly compensated should be set aside as a fund for the alleviation of poverty among Dublin’s “decayed merchants”.
For several members of the crew this outcome only exacerbated the straitened circumstances in which they found themselves. Many had returned to Dublin only to discover that in their absence their wives had remarried, or their estates had been divided among their next-of-kin. It is even said that some of the returning shipmates found new children awaiting them at home. To this day in Ringsend, children born in unorthodox circumstances are referred to as “ouzelers”
In 1876 the story was made the subject of a novel by the prolific but little-known writer W. H. G. Kingston: The Ouzel Galley, or Notes From an Old Sea Dog. In this book, the Ouzel is indeed commandeered by pirates - but in the Caribbean, not North Africa. And when she returns to Dublin there is no booty in her hold. Kingston is known to have visited Dublin in 1856 and 1857, and was a cousin of Sir John K. James, a long-standing member of the Ouzel Galley Society, so it is quite possible that he was privy to “the secret history” of the vessel. Furthermore, Sir John died in 1875, one year before the appearance of Kingston’s novel, which has led some historians to speculate that Kingston had agreed not to publish his account while Sir John was still alive precisely because his scandalous account contains much that is true.
In 1904 C. Litton Falkiner mentioned “piratical spoils” among the Ouzel’s cargo in his Illustrations of Irish History and Topography.
James Joyce
alludes to the Ouzel Galley in his final work Finnegans Wake
(1939): “or
carried of cloud from land of locust, in ouzel galley borne....”
In 1940 another novelisation of the story appeared by the Irish surgeon, George Aloysius Little. The Ouzel Galley does draw on earlier accounts of the ship, but it is as much a flight of fancy as it is an historical novel.
The members were generally drawn from among the city’s most eminent politicians and businessmen - among them Arthur Guinness
and John Jameson
. For much of the eighteenth century the society met in public houses - “the Rose and Bottle or Phoenix Tavern or Power’s Inn or Jude’s Hotel”, as James Joyce recounts in Finnegans Wake.
In 1783 the society was partially subsumed by the newly formed Dublin Chamber of Commerce
, whose meetings generally took place in the Commercial Buildings on College Green
. A stone plaque commemorating the society can still be seen above the doorway of No. 10, next door to the no longer extant Commercial Buildings. The Ouzel Galley Society was eventually wound up in 1888.
Precisely one century later, however, during Dublin’s “millennium” celebrations in 1988, the Ouzel Galley Society was reconstituted, primarily as a charitable institution. The membership now comprises former presidents of the chamber of commerce and others who are deemed to have “made a significant contribution to the economy of the capital”. In 2005 Mary Finan was elected as the society’s first female captain.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
merchant ship that set sail from Dublin in the late seventeenth century and was presumed lost with all hands
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
when she failed to return within the next three years. After a further two years had elapsed, however, she mysteriously reappeared with her full complement of crew and a valuable cargo of spices, exotic goods and, it is said, piratical
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
spoils. The ship has entered Irish folklore, and her unexplained disappearance and unexpected reappearance are still the subject of a number of conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
Disappearance
The facts, so far as they can be ascertained, are quite straightforward. In the autumn of 1695 a merchant galley called the Ouzel (meaning blackbird) sailed out of RingsendRingsend
Ringsend is a southside inner suburb of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey, about two kilometres east of the city centre, and is the southern terminus of the East Link Toll Bridge....
in Dublin under the command of Capt Eoghan Massey of Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
. Her destination, it was supposed at the time, was the port of Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
(now İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
), where the vessel’s owners - the Dublin shipping company of Ferris, Twigg & Cash - intended her to engage in a trading mission before returning to Dublin the following year. The Ouzel, however, did not return as scheduled; nor was she seen the year after that. When a third year passed without any sign of her or her crew, it was generally assumed by the people of Dublin that she had been lost at sea with all hands.
In 1698 a panel comprising the city’s most eminent merchants was set up to settle the question of insurance. The panel’s ruling was that the ship had indeed been lost and that its owners and insurers should receive their due compensation. The galley’s complement of thirty-seven crew and three officers were declared dead and the insurance was paid out.
Reappearance
Two years later, however, in the autumn of 1700, the Ouzel made her unexpected reappearance, sailing up the River Liffey to scenes of both disbelief and wild jubilation. Captain Massey later described how the ship had fallen victim to AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n corsair
Corsair
Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
s on its outward journey. The crew were taken to North Africa, where they were forced to man the ship while their new masters engaged in acts of piracy against merchant vessels returning from the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
or plying the lucrative Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
shipping lanes. After five years of captivity, however, Capt Massey and his men took advantage of a drunken carousal to free themselves and retake the Ouzel, which they then promptly sailed back to Dublin, its hold still full of the pirates’ booty.
Rumours
It was not long before rumours were circulating around Dublin to the effect that the trading mission to Smyrna had been a blind all along and that it was Captain Massey and his crew who had been engaged in piracy on the high seas. The tall story of Algerian corsairs and a five-year captivity in North Africa, not to mention the fortuitous escape of the entire crew, was considered too far-fetched to be true.In the late eighteenth century it was illegal for Irish ships to trade in the West Indies, so it is quite possible that Smyrna was falsely declared as the ship’s destination and Captain Massey sailed to the Caribbean with every intention of trading honestly. In those days the West Indies was notorious for its piracy, and Irishmen are known to have engaged in the practice, both willingly and unwillingly.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the ownership of the Ouzel’s cargo became a matter of dispute. As plunder, it could not be legally divided amongst the crew. The arbitration body which had settled the question of insurance in 1698 was reconvened to inquire into the matter. Later accounts recall how the panel decided that all monies remaining after the ship’s owners and insurers had been properly compensated should be set aside as a fund for the alleviation of poverty among Dublin’s “decayed merchants”.
For several members of the crew this outcome only exacerbated the straitened circumstances in which they found themselves. Many had returned to Dublin only to discover that in their absence their wives had remarried, or their estates had been divided among their next-of-kin. It is even said that some of the returning shipmates found new children awaiting them at home. To this day in Ringsend, children born in unorthodox circumstances are referred to as “ouzelers”
The Ouzel Galley in history and literature
No contemporary accounts of the Ouzel Galley’s adventures survive. The earliest reliable reference is found in Warburton, Whitelaw and Walsh’s History of Dublin (1818): “Early in the year 1700, the case of a ship in the port of Dublin excited much controversy and legal perplexity, without being drawn to a satisfactory conclusion.”In 1876 the story was made the subject of a novel by the prolific but little-known writer W. H. G. Kingston: The Ouzel Galley, or Notes From an Old Sea Dog. In this book, the Ouzel is indeed commandeered by pirates - but in the Caribbean, not North Africa. And when she returns to Dublin there is no booty in her hold. Kingston is known to have visited Dublin in 1856 and 1857, and was a cousin of Sir John K. James, a long-standing member of the Ouzel Galley Society, so it is quite possible that he was privy to “the secret history” of the vessel. Furthermore, Sir John died in 1875, one year before the appearance of Kingston’s novel, which has led some historians to speculate that Kingston had agreed not to publish his account while Sir John was still alive precisely because his scandalous account contains much that is true.
In 1904 C. Litton Falkiner mentioned “piratical spoils” among the Ouzel’s cargo in his Illustrations of Irish History and Topography.
James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
alludes to the Ouzel Galley in his final work Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
(1939): “or
carried of cloud from land of locust, in ouzel galley borne....”
In 1940 another novelisation of the story appeared by the Irish surgeon, George Aloysius Little. The Ouzel Galley does draw on earlier accounts of the ship, but it is as much a flight of fancy as it is an historical novel.
The Ouzel Galley Society
In 1705 the panel of merchants which had arbitrated in the case of the Ouzel Galley was formally established as a permanent arbitration body to deal with similar shipping disputes that might arise. It was hoped that the new body could resolve such disputes without having recourse to the courts, which would have resulted in excessive legal fees. Not only did the Ouzel Galley Society take its name from the famous vessel, but its membership was also regulated to match that ship’s complement of forty men. The society’s members bore naval titles such as captain, coxswain, boatswain, etc., and were expected to pay an annual subscription for the upkeep of the society; fees charged for the society’s arbitration work were donated to various worthy causes.The members were generally drawn from among the city’s most eminent politicians and businessmen - among them Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness was an Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery business and family.He was also an entrepreneur, visionary and philanthropist....
and John Jameson
John Jameson
John Jameson was an American farmer, lawyer, and politician from Fulton, Missouri. He represented Missouri in the U.S...
. For much of the eighteenth century the society met in public houses - “the Rose and Bottle or Phoenix Tavern or Power’s Inn or Jude’s Hotel”, as James Joyce recounts in Finnegans Wake.
In 1783 the society was partially subsumed by the newly formed Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Dublin Chamber of Commerce is one of the oldest such organisations in Europe and traces its origins back to the Autumn of 1695 when the Dublin shipping company of Ferris, Twiggs and Cash sent their vessel Ouzel Galley on an important trading journey to the near-Eastern Seas. With provisions, a crew...
, whose meetings generally took place in the Commercial Buildings on College Green
College Green
College Green is a three-sided "square" in the centre of Dublin. On its northern side is a building known today as the Bank of Ireland which until 1800 was Ireland's Parliament House. To its east stands Trinity College Dublin, the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. To its south...
. A stone plaque commemorating the society can still be seen above the doorway of No. 10, next door to the no longer extant Commercial Buildings. The Ouzel Galley Society was eventually wound up in 1888.
Precisely one century later, however, during Dublin’s “millennium” celebrations in 1988, the Ouzel Galley Society was reconstituted, primarily as a charitable institution. The membership now comprises former presidents of the chamber of commerce and others who are deemed to have “made a significant contribution to the economy of the capital”. In 2005 Mary Finan was elected as the society’s first female captain.