The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (2000) 29.2: 2477259 doi: 10.10061ijna.2000.0313 Historic storms and shipwrecks in Ireland: a preliminary survey of severe synoptic conditions as a causal factor in underwater archaeology W. Forsythe, C. Breen, C. Callaghan and R. McConkey Centre for Maritime Archaeology, School of Environmental Studies, University of’ Ulster Cokraine, C5. Dewy, Northern Ireland A number of authors have dealt with the historical reconstruction of synoptic conditions from shipping records during isolated incidents, notably naval events. The paper presents a broad survey of Irish shipwrecks that correlate with historic storms in an attempt to quantify the extent of these incidents, and relate the weather observations of the distressed vessels to those at meteorological stations, as well as those put forward by meteorologists reconstructing past conditions. 0 2000 The Nautical Archaeology Society Key words: storms, shipwreck, meteorology, Ireland. Introduction tudies of shipping associated with severe climatic events have tended to concentrate on individual historic incidents. Often these have focused on large-scale naval engagements that produce multiple accounts of a battle and associated prevailing conditions. In doing so scholars have attempted to relate the influence of the weather to naval action or the course of historical events. In Ireland the shipwrecks associ- ated with the Armadas of 1588 and 1796 have been examined by meteorologists (Douglas et al., 1978; Tyrell, 1997; Wheeler, 1998), but there has been limited consideration of the wider synoptic and historical picture, particularly with regard to shipwrecks. Documentary evidence of shipwreck- ing often contains weather observations, to pro- vide a context or explanation for the loss. Those recording wrecks in Ireland range from the agents of Lloyds to witnesses on shore, survivors, and other vessels in the vicinity. As a result, accounts have been passed down through avenues as di- verse as government reports and folklore. The records from ships’ logs have been shown to have some use in the reconstruction of past weather conditions (Oliver & Kingston, 1970; Wheeler, 1988). Shipwreck reports fail to offer the intimacy of log-books with the individual vessel and cannot attempt to imitate their importance, recording as they do the daily life of a ship. In addition, the details in reports such as dates, names of vessels, and locations are often incomplete, or somewhat confused, even in the late 19th century. This would present a bleak prospect for offering meteorological interpretations were it not for the sheer volume of wrecks around the coast. The records of over 10,000 shipwrecking incidents off Ireland have been compiled from documentary sources by maritime archaeologists. This research has been carried out by government agencies in both Northern Ireland and the Republic in an attempt to quantify the marine archaeological resource under their protection. Of these, 244 are definitely associated with the most severe storm incidents recorded. The historical record for storms in Ireland, as with Europe in general, is incomplete (Lamb, 1991: 22). Armagh Observatory has been regu- larly recording weather since 1795, and the Ordnance Survey at Phoenix Park in Dublin has been producing reliable meteorological obser- vations since 1829. These sources provide a land- based benchmark by which the majority of shipping observations may be compared. Before the late 18th century it is necessary to turn to the less complete and unscientific observations re- corded in documentary sources such as annals 1057-2414100/020247+ 13 $35.0010 0 2000 The Nautical Archaeology Society