Jeanie sets sail on four-month tour of Ireland

THE Jeanie Johnston set sail yesterday on a four-month voyage around Ireland, though the beleaguered Famine ship’s final destination is still in doubt.

Some 5,000 people visited the replica Famine ship over the bank holiday weekend, where it was docked on Custom House Quay, Dublin.

Her first port of call on the Ireland Tour 2004 will be Derry, where she will stop this weekend before heading to Belfast, then back to Derry and on to Killybegs.

A spokesman said he was hoping the ship will sail until September, but the rest of the programme is still to be finalised.

An 11-man crew works full-time on the vessel and takes 24 sail-trainees on board between each port.

The crew is hoping to anchor at many towns it has never visited so locals can learn something about the many emigrants who left Ireland for America on the ship between 1848 and 1855. The accommodation deck is converted to a Famine ship museum when in port, complete with life-size models and sounds to emulate a crowded emigrant ship.

The Ireland voyage was arranged in place of a transatlantic crossing which was cancelled due to ongoing discussions over the vessel’s financial problems.

Negotiations between the Jeanie Johnston company and the Government are at a critical stage. The €15.5m ship will be sold unless the Government can be convinced to take over its ownership. It is owned by a company comprised of representatives from the Kerry Group, local councils and Shannon Development.

Annual repayment costs of €235,000 on a 15-year loan taken out in 2002 to bail out the ship have crippled Tralee Town Council.

The council asked for extra Government funding to help pay the debt, claiming the Jeanie Johnston is a national project, but its request was turned down.

The recreation of the Famine ship took place at Blennerville, near Tralee, Co Kerry, and was completed in 2002.