Wreck Diving in Ireland
64 diveable wrecks across 9 regions. Depths range from 0m to 134m.
Cork(15)
La Surveillante
Beneath the sheltered waters of Bantry Bay lies one of the most archaeologically significant wrecks in Ireland -- a French frigate scuttled during the failed 1796-97 expedition to support Irish rebellion against British rule. La Surveillante went down on 2 January 1797 after her crew chose scuttling over capture by the Royal Navy. Lost for nearly two centuries, the wreck was identified in 1981 during marine surveys following the Whiddy Island oil terminal disaster, and confirmed in 1997 when the ship's bell was located. Preservation is exceptional: the wreck survives from the orlop deck down to the copper-sheathed keelson, with the entire site contained within just 50 by 25 metres. A nationally protected monument (NMS Wreck Number W08507), diving requires prior permission from authorities.
MV Bardini Reefer
Her masts still break the surface. In the channel between Bere Island and the mainland at Castletownbere, the MV Bardini Reefer sits almost complete in just 15 metres of water -- masts protruding above the waterline, making the wreck impossible to miss. This 3,976 GRT Panamanian factory fishing vessel caught fire while at anchor in Bantry Bay and burned for three days before sinking on 15 December 1982. All crew were rescued by local boats. Gentle currents in the sheltered harbour have encouraged dense marine growth on the superstructure. Divers can explore the periphery and full length of the deck, viewing the boiler room, mast, and funnels. Penetration is possible through some openings. The site deserves at least two dives and is accessible to all levels including freedivers. Visibility varies between 3-5 metres.
MV Kowloon Bridge
At 294 metres long and 169,469 deadweight tonnes, the Kowloon Bridge wreck is one of the largest diveable shipwrecks on the planet. She was a Bridge-class OBO carrier that developed structural cracks in heavy Atlantic weather in November 1986 while carrying 160,000 tonnes of iron ore from Canada. Refused entry to several ports, she broke free from tugs and drifted onto the Stags rocks off Toe Head in West Cork. All 28 crew were helicoptered to safety. The wreckage now sprawls across a wide seabed area from 5 to 34 metres, offering diving for a range of experience levels. Iron ore pellets blanket the site. Marine life is prolific -- seals, large shoals of pollock, conger eels, and dense anemone growth thrive on the scattered hull sections, some of which rise more than 10 metres off the seabed.
RMS Celtic
When she launched in 1901, the RMS Celtic was the biggest ship in the world -- the first vessel in history to exceed 20,000 gross tons, surpassing even the legendary SS Great Eastern. Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line as the first of their Big Four quartet, she measured over 700 feet and 20,904 GRT. Her end came ignominiously on 10 December 1928, blown onto rocks at Roches Point while waiting for a harbour pilot at Cobh. Stuck on Cow-and-Calf Rock, wave action caused such structural damage that she was declared a total loss within a week. Sold to Danish firm Petersen and Albeck, she was broken up in situ by 1933. Tragedy struck again in November 1929 when hydrogen sulphide gas from rotting cargo killed four salvage workers. Artifacts found their way into Cork homes. The sparse remaining wreckage at 10-20 metres requires local knowledge to locate.
RMS Lusitania
Eighteen minutes. That's all it took for the Lusitania to disappear beneath the Celtic Sea on 7 May 1915, taking 1,198 souls with her. A single torpedo from U-20, fired eleven miles south of the Old Head of Kinsale, struck the starboard side -- followed by a mysterious second explosion whose cause is still debated. The sinking turned American opinion against Germany and altered the course of World War I. Today the wreck lies on her starboard side at approximately 93 metres, heavily collapsed and continuing to degrade from corrosion and tidal currents. Diving the Lusitania demands advanced trimix certification, deep wreck experience, and permission from Irish authorities. Visibility typically runs 5-8 metres in moderate to strong currents. This is a protected site under Irish law, and the Irish Examiner reported in 2024 that efforts are underway to document and recover artefacts before further collapse.
SM UC-42
The crew of UC-42 were laying mines to destroy other ships when one of their own mines destroyed them. On 10 September 1917, this German UC II-class minelaying submarine was deploying a minefield at the entrance to Cork Harbour off Roches Point when a mine detonated, killing all 27 crew instantly. The wreck was relocated by divers in 2010 in approximately 28-30 metres and subsequently designated a war grave under the National Monuments Acts. She rests on her port side with the keel visible and an external bow torpedo tube lying in the silt beneath. In 2024, divers from Blackwater Sub Aqua Club and Mizen Archaeology recovered one of the propellers after months of careful excavation -- a significant maritime heritage event covered by RTE and the Irish Examiner. A licence under the National Monuments Acts is required to dive this protected site.
SS Alondra
Survivors were lowered down a 45-metre cliff face. When the SS Alondra ran aground on Kedge Rock off Baltimore in dense fog on 29 December 1916, sixteen of her 40 crew drowned taking to a ship's boat. The Baltimore lifeboat launched twice but couldn't reach the vessel. At daylight, rescuers arrived with rocket apparatus and two Royal Navy trawlers. Together they saved 23 men -- Archdeacon Becher and Lieutenant Sanderson each received the RNLI Silver Medal for Gallantry. Built in 1899 for the Rio Tinto Company, the 2,500 GRT steel steamship now offers multiple depth zones from 6 metres (forecastle with anchor winches) down to 46 metres (stern section), with prominent boilers at 20 metres surrounded by hull plating that houses large conger eels. A popular Baltimore dive; strong tides dictate slack water timing.
SS Aud
Captain Karl Spindler chose to scuttle his ship rather than let 20,000 rifles fall into British hands. The SS Aud -- actually the SS Libau, a German vessel disguised as a Norwegian steamer -- was carrying 20,000 rifles, a million rounds of ammunition, and ten machine guns for the planned 1916 Easter Rising. After sailing from Germany around Scotland, she arrived off the Kerry coast on 20 April 1916 but failed to connect with the Irish rebels due to miscommunication. Intercepted by the Royal Navy and escorted into Cork Harbour, Spindler ordered scuttling charges set. The Aud sank on 22 April with her entire weapons cargo. The wreck at approximately 30 metres in Cork Harbour is very broken up, but boilers and thousands of rifle bullets remain visible among the wreckage. One of the most historically significant wrecks in Ireland.
SS City of Chicago
Dense fog and the towering cliffs of the Old Head of Kinsale proved a fatal combination. On 22 June 1892, the Inman Line passenger liner SS City of Chicago -- 132 metres long and approximately 5,200 GRT, built by Charles Connell & Co. in Glasgow -- ran aground at Ringagurteen Point while on passage from New York to Queenstown and Liverpool. All passengers were rescued safely with their baggage, but twelve crew drowned when a rescue boat was swamped. For three days the ship held together against relentless Atlantic pounding before listing and breaking apart. The wreck now lies at approximately 20 metres at the foot of the dramatic Old Head cliffs, offering an accessible and scenic dive near one of Ireland's most famous headlands -- and not far from the resting place of the Lusitania.
SS Iberian
Scattered in a zig-zag pattern across a shelving slope from 6 to 36 metres, the remains of the SS Iberian tell the story of an 1885 grounding that all 53 crew survived. This iron cargo steamship of 2,930 GRT, built in 1867 with compound inverted engines of 350 HP, was carrying cattle from Boston to Liverpool for F. Leyland & Co. when thick fog delivered her onto rocks half a mile south-west of Bird Island in Dunmanus Bay. The captain and crew escaped in four boats -- three landed on Bird Island rocks, the fourth was swept away but later found with everyone alive. The wreck is broken into multiple sections; the iron propeller remains intact at 30-38 metres. Featured in Divernet Wreck Tour No. 42, the site is accessed from Schull or Crookhaven with no significant currents.
SS Inniscarra
Father and son died together. Quartermaster Timothy Buckley of Blarney Street and his son Florence, a trimmer, were both serving aboard the SS Inniscarra when a German submarine torpedoed her on 12 May 1918, ten miles south-east of Ballycotton Island. Their deaths were part of a devastating pattern: in 1918 alone, the City of Cork Steam Packet Company lost the Inniscarra, the Innisfallen, the Imber, and the Serula. By the Armistice, only one ship remained and over 178 employees were dead. Built by Wigham Richardson & Sons Ltd, the Inniscarra carried cargo on the Cork routes. The wreck lies off the Cork coast near Ballycotton.
SS Oswestry
Copper ingots weighing 40 kilograms each -- some are still down there, visible but stubbornly immovable. The SS Oswestry was a 2,419-ton steel steamship wrecked in fog on the north side of Mizen Head on 12 March 1899, carrying cotton, deal, Indian maize, and valuable lead and copper bars worth approximately 250,000 euros in modern terms. Captain Wilson and all 24 crew were saved by locals. The wreck at 15-20 metres is wedged against a towering rock stack 500 metres north of Mizen Head, making it easy to find. Described as one of the most impressive rummage dives imaginable, the site is littered with copper and lead bar cargo debris. Sometimes mistakenly called the Irada, which was actually a different ship wrecked at Mizen Head in 1908. Built in 1888 by E. Withy & Co., West Hartlepool.
SS Sente
Christmas Day 1900. A Japanese crew, a Chinese cook, Scottish officers, and a steam-powered bucket dredger bound for Formosa. The SS Sente had been built at Greenock for the Japanese government at a cost of 20,000 pounds. Just three days out of port, a winter gale in St George's Channel gave her a fatal list to port. Captain Jameson pointed the vessel for shelter at Cork, but she went down off Roches Point. The hull is barely recognisable at 28-30 metres, but all the heavy machinery remains -- massive drive gears, an upturned engine base with gearbox, dredger buckets, bevelled gears, and propeller shaft sections. The wreckage piles up at a high point rising 4 metres above the seabed. Featured in Divernet Wreck Tour No. 178. Accessible from Crosshaven, with slack water diving recommended.
The Nellie
Curious blennies watch you from every crevice. The Nellie was a Dutch trawler that foundered at the Sovereign Islands near Kinsale in the 1960s -- reports on how she was lost are conflicting, with one account blaming a storm on the Liverpool-to-Cork run and another claiming no lives were lost. What's not in dispute is the charm of this dive. At approximately 15 metres on the south side of Big Sovereign island, tilted decks and rusting masts sit in turquoise waters teeming with marine life. Suitable for all grades of diver, this is a lovely wreck to potter around on a short boat trip from Kinsale. The anchor was raised by local divers and now stands at the top of the slip in Oysterhaven, serving as both memorial and a warning to seafarers approaching the rocks.
U-260
At 43 metres on a rocky seabed near Baltimore, a German U-boat sits almost perfectly intact -- torpedoes still loaded in their tubes, the periscope glass unbroken, the Walter snorkel standing upright after eight decades on the bottom. U-260 was a Type VIIC submarine that struck a British mine approximately 32 kilometres south of the Fastnet Rock on 12 March 1945. The entire crew survived and were interned in Ireland for the rest of the war. Apart from mine damage to the bow, the hull is remarkably preserved. Open hatches allow limited penetration. The conning tower, twin bronze propellers, and DF aerial all remain in place. Visibility ranges from 5 to 10 metres. For advanced divers visiting Baltimore, West Cork, this is an unmissable dive -- compact enough to navigate the entire submarine in a single outing.
Donegal(14)
HMS Audacious
For the entire duration of World War I, the British Admiralty pretended HMS Audacious still existed. The King George V-class dreadnought battleship struck a German mine off Tory Island on 27 October 1914 -- one of the first major warship losses of the war. Despite hours of rescue attempts, she capsized after a magazine explosion. All crew were rescued by the White Star liner RMS Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic. The loss was kept secret to deny Germany a propaganda victory. The wreck now lies inverted at 58-68 metres depth, roughly 18 nautical miles northeast of Tory Island. Reaching it requires a three-hour-plus boat transfer and trimix capability, but the clear Atlantic water off Donegal often delivers visibility exceeding 15 metres. One of the most impressive technical dives in Irish waters.
HMS Transylvania
A 17,000-ton ocean liner sitting upright on the seabed at 130 metres, largely intact, in water described as having awesome visibility. HMS Transylvania is among the deepest diveable wrecks in the region -- extreme technical expedition territory, accessible only to expert trimix or CCR divers. Built in 1925 by Fairfield Shipbuilding in Glasgow for the Anchor Line, she was requisitioned in August 1939 and converted to armed merchant cruiser F56, serving on the Northern Patrol. On 10 August 1940, U-56 torpedoed her approximately 40 nautical miles northwest of Malin Head. Taken in tow, she later foundered. Approximately 300 officers and ratings were rescued by nearby trawlers. The wreck requires a 3-4 hour boat transit from the Donegal coast.
HMS Viknor
No distress signal. No survivors. No conclusive explanation. HMS Viknor vanished off Tory Island on 13 January 1915 with all 295 hands -- one of the worst Royal Navy losses off Ireland in World War I. Originally built as RMS Atrato in 1888, she was later sold and renamed The Viking for use as a cruise ship, then requisitioned by the Admiralty in late 1914 and sent to war. The cause of her loss was never determined, though the SMS Berlin minefield -- which also claimed HMS Audacious and SS Manchester Commerce -- is the prime suspect. The wreck was finally located in 2006 by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer at 85 metres depth, 18 kilometres west of Tory Island. An extreme technical dive in exposed Atlantic conditions. Designated war grave.
HMS Wasp
The court-martial records have disappeared. The curse story has not. HMS Wasp was a Banterer-class gunboat ordered to assist in forcible evictions on Inishtrahull Island, north of Malin Head. According to Tory Island folklore, islanders "turned" a cursing stone against the ship. On 22 September 1884, running under sail with an inexperienced officer at the wheel and insufficient boiler pressure to manoeuvre, the Wasp ran onto rocks at the base of the Tory Island lighthouse, killing 50 of her 56 crew. The official verdict: navigational error. But the inquiry records have since vanished, and theories of sabotage persist. The wreck lies scattered in 8-18 metres near Tory Island -- an accessible but exposed Atlantic dive with over 140 years of intrigue.
HMT Justicia
Six torpedoes from two separate U-boats over two days. That's what it took to sink the Justicia -- one of the largest vessels lost during World War I at 32,234 GRT and 237 metres long. Originally laid down as the Holland-America liner Statendam, she was completed as a British troopship. UB-64 torpedoed her northwest of Malin Head on 19 July 1918, but she stayed afloat and was taken in tow. The following day UB-124 found her and fired two more torpedoes. By noon she rolled over and sank. At 70 metres depth, over 25 nautical miles offshore, everything about the wreck is enormous: oversized chains, derricks, capstans on the foredeck, a massive anchor still in place on the broken-off bow. A three-hour-plus boat transfer is required. The sheer scale makes this one of the most extraordinary technical dives in the world.
SM U-89
Visibility can exceed 40 metres here -- some of the clearest water on the planet, thanks to the rock and shale seabed off the Donegal coast. SM U-89 sits at approximately 62 metres depth, 25 miles off Malin Head, remarkably well preserved with deck guns at both bow and stern and torpedoes still in storage. She surfaced just 200 yards ahead of the cruiser HMS Roxburgh on 12 February 1918. The cruiser rammed the conning tower without hesitation, sending U-89 to the bottom with all 43 crew. Large cod, pollock, and conger eels patrol the wreck. Diving is from specialist charter boats out of Malin Head using trimix, with bottom times of around 30 minutes and total run times of 85 minutes. Designated war grave.
SS Carthaginian
Bound for Montreal with capacity for 596 passengers and a crew of 57, the SS Carthaginian never made it past Malin Head. On 14 June 1917, this 4,444 GRT Allan Line steel steamship struck a mine laid by German submarine U-79 approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Inishtrahull Lighthouse. Built in 1884 by the Govan Shipbuilding Co. for the Glasgow-Montreal route, she measured 116 metres long and 21 metres wide. The wreck sits at approximately 58 metres with a maximum height of 4.3 metres above the seabed -- a relatively flat profile at depth. Part of the extraordinary concentration of wrecks off Malin Head that makes this stretch of the Donegal coast one of the premier technical dive destinations in the world.
SS Castle Eden
Torpedoed, then shelled 20 times by the surfaced U-boat for good measure. The SS Castle Eden, a 1,949 GRT steam collier fitted with a 13-pounder stern gun, departed Glasgow at 3:30am on 4 March 1918 carrying 2,900 tons of coal and timber for the Royal Navy at Lough Swilly. SM UB-110 torpedoed her engine room, then surfaced and pummelled the stricken ship with 20 shells. Remarkably, all crew survived. The wreck at 31-32 metres in Culdaff Bay off Malin Head is broken to seabed level by Atlantic groundswell, but rewards patient exploration. Divers find a dense shoal of pouting at the boilers, conger eels in gaps in the plating, the triple-expansion engine fallen to starboard, greenhouse-like ventilation hatches, and a large steering quadrant at the stern. INFOMAR has produced a 3D model. Featured in Divernet Wreck Tour No. 111.
SS Empire Heritage
Sherman tanks sit upright on the seabed at 67 metres, some perfectly intact, others still racked neatly in the holds three deep. The SS Empire Heritage was a 15,702 GRT tanker carrying aviation fuel, tanks, and half-track military vehicles from New York as part of Convoy HX-305 when U-482 torpedoed her on 8 September 1944 approximately 20 nautical miles northwest of Malin Head. She went down in under five minutes, killing 113. Thirty minutes later, the same U-boat torpedoed the rescue vessel Pinto as she picked up survivors. The sight of WWII military vehicles entangled with the wreckage is unique among Irish dive sites. Clear Atlantic water off Donegal often provides visibility exceeding 15 metres. The wreck is a designated war grave.
SS Laurentic
Twenty-five bars of gold remain unaccounted for. Between 1917 and 1924, Royal Navy salvage divers recovered 3,186 of the 3,211 gold ingots carried by the SS Laurentic -- 43 tonnes of bullion worth GBP 5 million at the time, financing British war purchases in North America. The White Star Line passenger liner, converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser, struck two mines laid by U-80 off Fanad Head on 25 January 1917, sinking with the loss of 354 lives in temperatures of minus 9 degrees Celsius. The wreck at approximately 40 metres off Lough Swilly is heavily collapsed from both natural deterioration and years of intensive salvage. A prominent upright deck gun sits among the tangled wreckage and serves as the key landmark for divers. Part of the extraordinary concentration of wrecks off Malin Head that makes Donegal a premier technical dive destination.
SS Manchester Commerce
First blood from the Berlin minefield. On 23 October 1914, the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Berlin laid 200 mines off northwest Ireland on her very first wartime mission. Four days later, the SS Manchester Commerce sailed straight into them while bound from Manchester to Quebec. Fourteen crew died including the Master. On the same day, the same minefield claimed a far more famous victim: the dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious. The Manchester Commerce, a cargo steamship of 5,363 GRT built by Furness Withy & Co., rests at 83 metres -- a deep technical dive requiring trimix, accessed by a long boat transit from the Donegal coast. One of the deeper Malin Head wrecks, demanding extensive deep diving experience.
SS Pinto
Ninety seconds. That was all the time between the torpedo impact and the Pinto disappearing beneath the Atlantic. She was doing what rescue ships do -- stationary, picking survivors from the water after U-482 had torpedoed the SS Empire Heritage just 30 minutes earlier. The same U-boat fired again, and the 1,346 GRT convoy rescue ship sank almost instantly. Captain Lawrence Boggs, M.B.E., was among the dead. Built in 1928 and converted for rescue service in May 1942, the Pinto had sailed with 10 convoys before her loss on 8 September 1944 while stationed with Convoy HX 305. The wreck at approximately 66 metres lies near the Empire Heritage wreck site, north-northeast of Tory Island. A deep technical dive requiring trimix, in remote open Atlantic conditions.
SS Roscommon
A New Zealand-owned ship, requisitioned by Britain, torpedoed by Germany, resting off Ireland. The SS Roscommon was an 8,238 GRT cargo steamship built in 1902 by Workman, Clark & Co. in Belfast for the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand. Taken up under the Liner Requisition Scheme during World War I, she was intercepted by U-53 under Kapitanleutnant Hans Rose on 21 August 1917 while on voyage from Manchester to Australia, approximately 20 miles northeast of Tory Island. No casualties were reported. At 76 metres, this is one of the deeper Malin Head technical dives. A rebreather is the weapon of choice and trimix is mandatory. Mevagh Dive Centre in Carrigart is the specialist operator for the area.
U-2511
She nearly changed the course of the war. U-2511 was the only operationally deployed Type XXI "Elektroboot" submarine in World War II -- the revolutionary design that could have devastated Allied shipping had it entered service earlier. Commanded by Korvettenkapitan Adalbert Schnee, she made one war patrol and had a British cruiser group in her sights before the ceasefire aborted the attack. Surrendered at Bergen, Norway, she was scuttled by Royal Navy gunfire on 7 January 1946 during Operation Deadlight after her towing cable parted. Discovered in 1999 by local diver Al Wright, the wreck at 67-69 metres off Malin Head is largely intact on her port side, with a large blast hole on the starboard side near the conning tower. One of the most historically significant U-boat wrecks anywhere. Featured on BBC Dig WW2 with Dan Snow.
Dublin(10)
Guide Me II
When divers recovered the six-pounder Hotchkiss gun in 1990, they found a live round still in the breech. The restored gun now sits in the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire, but the Guide Me II herself remains upright and very intact at 32-38 metres on coarse sand, 1.5 kilometres southeast of the Muglins east of Dalkey Island. Built as an Aberdeen fishing boat in 1907, she was hired by the Admiralty in 1915 and fitted with the gun for anti-submarine patrol. A collision on 29 August 1918 sent her to the bottom, taking one crewman. Rediscovered in 1990 by diver Ivan Tunstead, the collision hole is clearly visible on the port side. At 26 metres long, a complete circuit is possible within no-decompression limits. Always a dark dive -- bring a good torch. Lobsters and conger eels throughout.
HMS Vanguard
Rammed by her own sister ship in fog, the 6,010-ton ironclad battleship sank with no loss of life -- and her captain never commanded a vessel again. On 1 September 1875, HMS Vanguard was en route from Dublin to Queenstown when HMS Iron Duke's underwater ram tore open her hull near the boilers. She went down in about 70 minutes. Rediscovered in 1985, the wreck is remarkably intact at 45-50 metres, tilted to starboard, rising approximately 16 metres from the seabed. The gun battery is the highest point. A spare iron propeller sits on deck. The layout can be deceptive -- divers report it is easy to unintentionally end up inside the hull. Protected under the National Monuments Act; a licence from the National Monuments Service is required. Fifteen miles southeast of Dun Laoghaire.
MV Bolivar
Dublin was desperate for food. The winter of 1947 was the worst in living memory -- freezing conditions, snowstorms, snowdrifts for weeks. On 4 March, the Norwegian motor vessel Bolivar was making her way across the Irish Sea with badly needed grain and supplies from Uruguay when a blinding snowstorm struck and she ran onto the Kish Bank sandbank. Despite attempts to pull free, the ship broke in two. All crew were rescued. The engine room was salvaged and the wreck partially dispersed with explosives in 1948 as a navigation hazard. Today the remains lie in 4-10 metres, split into two sections about 150 metres apart. The shifting Kish Bank sands alternately expose and bury different parts. Best dived 1.5 to 2 hours before high or low water at Dublin Port.
PS Queen Victoria
She struck Howth Head once. Backed off. Then struck again beneath the Baily Lighthouse and sank in fifteen minutes. On the night of 14 February 1853, the paddle steamer PS Queen Victoria -- built in 1838 for the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company's Dublin-Liverpool mail route -- departed Liverpool with approximately 100 passengers into a snowstorm. Around 02:00 on the 15th she hit the headland. Captain Jones tried to make harbour, but the damage was catastrophic. Dead in the water and filling fast, the ship drifted and struck a second time. Around 83 people perished including the captain. One lifeboat, carrying 17 survivors, reached shore. The Board of Trade blamed the captain, first officer, and lighthouse crew. The wreck lies at approximately 18-20 metres south of the Baily Lighthouse. Permit required to dive.
RMS Leinster
Over 564 dead -- the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea, and one of the most devastating maritime disasters of World War I. On 10 October 1918, UB-123 fired three torpedoes at the RMS Leinster near the Kish Bank. The first missed. The second struck the port side. As Captain Birch tried to turn back toward Kingstown, the third torpedo cut the ship almost in half. Twenty-one of 22 postal sorters aboard perished. The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company mail steamer, built in 1896 at Birkenhead, now lies at 28 metres approximately 4 nautical miles east of the Kish Light. The bow stands proud of the seabed; the rest is largely collapsed into sand. The anchor, recovered in 1991, is displayed at Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire. Strong currents and poor visibility make this an advanced dive. War grave.
RMS Tayleur
Her iron hull made the compasses lie. The RMS Tayleur, the largest iron clipper of her kind when built in 1853, departed Liverpool for Melbourne on her maiden voyage with over 650 souls aboard. Within 48 hours, fog and storm engulfed the ship. The crew believed they were sailing south through the Irish Sea -- they were actually heading west, straight for Lambay Island. An undersized rudder and improperly stretched rigging sealed her fate. She struck the rocks on 21 January 1854, killing over 370 people. The wreck at 9-17 metres in Tayleur Bay includes hull plates, a donkey engine, the lower mast, crockery, roof tiles, and even tombstones from the cargo. PROTECTED WRECK -- it is illegal to dive without prior permission from the Office of Public Works.
SS Marlay
Beneath the boilers, conger eels the size of your arm wait in the darkness. The SS Marlay is a moody, atmospheric wreck -- dark conditions, poor visibility, and the constant sense that you are not alone down here. This 800-ton steel collier, built in Belfast in 1890, sank in a December 1902 storm when heavy seas breached the hatches on her coal holds. Fifteen of 16 crew perished. She lies on her side at 25-35 metres, hull fairly intact, approximately 5.8 kilometres northwest of the Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head. Three boilers show at low tide. Lobsters, crabs, whiting, and bib populate the wreck alongside the resident congers. Care is needed around holes in the hull -- accidental entry is a real risk. The boat dive from Dun Laoghaire crosses the Dublin Port shipping lane.
SS Polwell
Not all U-boat captains were merciless. On 5 June 1918, SM U-96 surfaced three nautical miles northeast of Lambay Island and fired a warning shot across the bows of the SS Polwell, a British cargo steamer carrying coal from Troon to France. The crew of 30 abandoned ship in two lifeboats. Only then did the submarine fire a single shot amidships, sinking the Polwell. All crew survived, landing at Rockabill lighthouse off Skerries an hour later. The wreck at approximately 30 metres is broken into three sections, with the bow detached from the rest of the vessel. Surveyed by INFOMAR as part of marine heritage documentation of WWI wrecks in the western Irish Sea. An 86.6-metre coal carrier with an unexpectedly humane story.
SS Vesper
Captain Tolson and 18 men rowed 12 miles to Killiney Bay. Every one of them made it. On 13 January 1876, their ship -- the 478 GRT iron merchant steamer SS Vesper, laden with 620 tons of coal and sugar bound from Glasgow to Dunkirk -- had run aground on the Kish Bank and broken in two. Built by Courlay Bros of Dundee in 1865 for Huntley & Berner of Glasgow, the Vesper now lies at an estimated 10-15 metres on the shallow bank, approximately 11 kilometres off the Dublin coast. A protected archaeological site with LIVE status, the wreck provides a welcome oasis of marine life on the otherwise featureless sandy bank. Frequently dived alongside the nearby Bolivar. Boat dive from Dun Laoghaire, subject to tidal currents.
SS W.M. Barkley
Barrels of Guinness saved their lives. When the SS W.M. Barkley -- the first vessel of the famous Guinness fleet -- was torpedoed by UC-75 on 12 October 1917, she broke in two and sank within minutes just seven miles east of the Kish Lightship. Five crew died including the captain. But eight survivors escaped in an open lifeboat, buoyed by floating hogshead barrels of stout from the breached cargo hold. Built in 1898 and sold to Guinness in 1913, the 569 GRT vessel was also the first Irish merchant ship defensively armed with guns against submarine attack during WWI. The wreck lies at approximately 55 metres about 16 miles east of Dublin Port. A historically significant wreck connecting Dublin's brewing heritage with the submarine warfare of the Great War.
Galway(2)
Julia T
In the sheltered waters of Killary Harbour -- Ireland's only fjord -- a supply vessel sits perfectly upright on sand at 27 metres, smothered in plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, and vivid orange, white, and yellow sponges. The Julia T spent decades serving the island communities of Inishturk and Inishbofin, delivering building materials until the 1980s, before sinking during a decommissioning tow. Now she is a paradise for underwater photographers: wrasse, spider crabs, squat lobsters, and scorpion spider crabs populate every surface. Featured by Scuba Diving Magazine as one of seven must-dive sites in Ireland. The fjord setting means she is diveable in almost all conditions, and penetration is possible. Boat dive from Scubadive West, Renvyle.
Rath Connla
Perfect for your first wreck dive. The Rath Connla, a fishing trawler that sank at moorings in 2007, sits intact at just 16 metres in the calm, current-free waters of Killary Harbour. A mooring buoy attached to her bow makes the wreck easy to find. Anemones, scallops, tube worms, and whelks have colonised every surface -- a microcosm of the rich invertebrate life found throughout Ireland's only fjord. Shore-accessible from Rosroe Pier, about 200 metres northeast, this is an ideal training wreck for newly qualified divers. The sheltered setting provides minimal current and calm conditions year-round. Combine with a boat dive on the nearby Julia T for a rewarding full day of diving. Scubadive West in Renvyle is the local operator.
Irish Sea(1)
Kerry(5)
Crompton
Lost in 1910, not found again until 1970. The Crompton, a 2,810-ton steel four-masted barque and veteran of many Atlantic crossings, met her end on the unforgiving western cliffs at Dromgour Point on Valentia Island. All crew survived -- five men scrambled up the cliff at Filenagaragh to safety. Six decades later, divers rediscovered heavy plate steel remnants, a second anchor, rusting chains from the forward chain locker, spars, and plating scattered on the rocky seabed below the dramatic cliff face. The main anchor was recovered and is now a well-known local landmark, displayed on Des Lavelle's forecourt on Valentia Island. An atmospheric dive beneath towering cliff scenery, accessed by boat from Valentia. Depths at Dromgour Point range from 20 metres to beyond 50.
MV Ranga
Hollywood came calling for this wreck. The MV Ranga, a 1,586-tonne container ship, was driven onto the rocks at Dunmore Head near Coumeenole Beach on the Dingle Peninsula on 11 March 1982 after losing power in a severe storm -- on her maiden voyage under her new name. All fifteen crew were rescued, some by breeches buoy rigged by Dingle Fire Brigade, the rest by RAF helicopter. Captain Miguel Angel Diaz Madariaga was the last to leave. The ship split in two. In 1991, the stern section with superstructure was hauled away for the filming of Far and Away starring Tom Cruise. What remains lies in shallow water from 2-12 metres, accessible but subject to surge and wave action. The dramatic Slea Head scenery makes the setting as memorable as the dive.
Port Yarrock
The disaster was raised in the House of Commons. On 28 January 1894, the three-masted iron-clad barque Port Yarrock -- carrying refined copper ore worth GBP 100,000 from the US to Cobh -- was driven onto Kilcummin strand in Brandon Bay after dragging her anchors for over a week in a disabled state. All 20 British and Scandinavian crew perished; seven bodies were never recovered. The Court of Inquiry blamed the managing owner, Robert John Rowat, for allowing the ship to sail short-handed and for failing to send instructions to move her to safety. The wreck is largely buried in sand with the bowsprit visible at extreme low spring tides. An anchor and centenary memorial stone placed in 1994 stand on shore above Kilcummin strand. Very shallow shore exploration in the Maharees area.
SS Quiebra
Artillery shells still lie in the gullies. Scattered to the west of the main wreck site off Great Blasket Island, these munitions from the SS Quiebra's wartime cargo are a stark reminder of what this ship was carrying when she went down. The WWI munitions steamship lies at 15-27 metres on the north face of the island at Lochar Rock, well broken up but with boilers standing upright and the recoil spring of a ship's gun visible among the wreckage. Despite the exposed Blasket location, the site is relatively sheltered from prevailing winds, making it a reliable dive option on Blasket trips. About 45 minutes by boat from Dingle Harbour and often combined with dives at Seal Cove, where playful grey seals steal the show.
Santa Maria de la Rosa
Only one person survived: a boy named Giovanni. The Santa Maria de la Rosa, Vice Flagship of the Guipuzcoan squadron of the 1588 Spanish Armada, entered Blasket Sound already battered from earlier engagements, seeking shelter behind Great Blasket Island. She lost her anchor and struck Stromboli Reef, sinking instantly. The wreck was rediscovered on 4 July 1968 by Sydney Wignall and Colin Martin -- making it the first Armada wreck to receive proper scientific investigation and the site of the first large-scale swimline search in the British Isles. Archaeological remains at 35-40 metres on flat shingle include a mound of ballast stones with parts of the lower hull and main mast step. A pewter plate inscribed "matute" helped identify two crew brothers. Protected archaeological site; permission required. Strong tidal currents in Blasket Sound make this a challenging technical dive.
Mayo(2)
MV Shingle
From smuggling ship to artificial reef. Seized by the Irish Revenue Commissioners in 2014 while carrying 32 million cigarettes and 4.5 tonnes of tobacco -- a haul worth EUR 14 million in lost tax revenue -- the MV Shingle was deliberately sunk on 18 September 2024 in Killala Bay to create Ireland's first purpose-built artificial reef. All asbestos and pollutants were stripped from the 60-metre, 42-year-old hull before the controlled sinking. Then Storm Eowyn arrived on 24 January 2025 and broke the wreck into three sections -- bow, stern, and midships -- now lying 25-200 metres apart. Rather than a disaster, this created three distinct dive sites rather than one, with rapid barnacle growth and fish colonisation already established across all sections. Sits at approximately 29 metres. A cooperative venture between Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef, Revenue Commissioners, and Mayo and Sligo County Councils.
SS Thames
Undiscovered for over 90 years. The 295-ton London cargo steamer SS Thames struck St. Patrick's Rock off Kilcummin Head in fog on 5 March 1893 while carrying guano from London to Sligo. She backed off the rock into deeper water and sank at 24 metres. All 12 crew were saved. The wreck then vanished from memory until 14 September 1984, when Castlebar Sub-Aqua Club located her at the very same rock. Built in 1860, this Victorian-era steamer and her cargo represent a snapshot of 19th-century coastal trade along the Irish west coast. An intermediate boat dive in the sheltered waters of Killala Bay, now joined by the nearby MV Shingle artificial reef.
Waterford(4)
George Milburn
One man survived -- blown clear into the sea by the force of the explosion. When a mine from UC-42 detonated amidships on 12 July 1917, the 37-metre armed minesweeper George Milburn was ripped apart while escorting the oiler SS Wylie from Queenstown to Milford. Eleven of the twelve crew died instantly. The sole survivor was picked up by a passing fishing boat. The wreck lies in two pieces at 23 metres west of Hook Head in Waterford Harbour. Local sub-aqua clubs leave a permanent shot line on the site, making it easy to locate. The relatively shallow depth allows extended bottom time, and DUSAC describe it as a rewarding afternoon dive. About 30 minutes by boat from Dunmore East. Designated war grave.
SS Bandon
Friday the 13th lived up to its reputation. On 13 April 1917, the SS Bandon struck a mine from German submarine UC-44 off Mine Head while sailing from Liverpool to Cork. The blast beside the engine room killed 28 crew; only 4 survived, including Captain Kelly. In a grim twist, UC-44 herself was destroyed just four months later by one of her own mines off Dunmore East, with her commander Kurt Tebbenjohanns as the sole survivor. The Bandon wreck lies badly broken up at 33-34 metres, oriented east-west. INFOMAR multibeam surveyed. More challenging than nearby SS Folia -- heavier bottom current and poorer visibility demand precise slack-water timing. Built in 1910 by Swan Hunter, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 81.1 metres long. Boat dive from Dungarvan. War grave.
SS Folia
"Possibly the best wreck dive in Ireland." That is the verdict of local charter operators on the SS Folia, and the numbers back it up: relatively light currents and an average bottom visibility of 9 metres or more -- exceptional for Irish waters. This former Cunard liner of 6,705 GRT was torpedoed by U-53 under the highly decorated Hans Rose on 11 March 1917, 4 nautical miles off Ram Head, Ardmore. The third officer spotted a periscope 150 metres away, then two torpedo wakes. U-53 surfaced, circled, shelled the ship four times, and fired a second torpedo. Seven crew died. Badly broken up at 33-38 metres, but bow, boilers, stern with rudder, and an anti-aircraft gun remain as high points. Spent artillery shells from her 4,400-tonne cargo litter the seabed. Takes several dives to appreciate fully. Licence required from National Monuments Service. Boat from Dungarvan.
Samson
You can see it from the cliff walk above -- and then swim through it below. The Samson is a 55-metre Maltese crane barge that washed ashore at Ram Head, Ardmore, during a south-easterly gale on 12 December 1987 while being towed from Liverpool to Malta. The towline parted off the Welsh coast and could not be reconnected. The crew of two were rescued by RAF helicopter from Brawdy. Despite questions in Dail Eireann about removing the wreck, it was never salvaged. In April 2016 the entire crane jib collapsed into the sea, adding to the underwater wreckage. The site offers shallow diving and snorkelling from 5 to 16 metres and has become a popular local dive -- shore or boat access from Ardmore. An evolving, accessible wreck in a scenic location.
Wexford(11)
Girl Arleen
Swim inside the upside-down wheelhouse and look up: the crew's toilet and sink are stuck to what is now the ceiling. The Girl Arleen was a fishing trawler lost in a fog collision in 1995, now lying at 27 metres due east of Baggabaun Head off Hook Head. Mostly broken up, but the inverted wheelhouse is intact and absolutely teeming with marine life -- anemones, crustaceans, and fish have colonised every surface. Strong surface currents are typical but conditions are usually slack on the bottom. Considered one of the best summer boat dives in the Hook Head area, the Girl Arleen is accessible from Slade Harbour (4 miles) or Kilmore Quay. A surreal, memorable dive that rewards those willing to get inside the wreck.
ILV Isolda
"LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE" -- the words were painted in five-foot letters on both sides of the hull. It made no difference. On 19 December 1940, the Irish Lights tender ILV Isolda left Rosslare Harbour carrying crew and Christmas provisions for the Barrels and Coningbeg lightships. Three miles out, with the Saltee Islands off her starboard beam, a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor attacked without warning and sank her. Six crew members from Dun Laoghaire were killed. Ireland was neutral. The Isolda was on a humanitarian mission to supply lighthouses. She was 198 feet long, 734 tonnes, built at Dublin Dockyard and launched on 26 January 1928. The sinking remains one of the most poignant examples of the dangers faced by neutral Ireland during the Second World War.
SS Ardmore
One of six ships lost. The City of Cork Steam Packet Company was systematically gutted by U-boat warfare during World War I, and the SS Ardmore was among the toll. Built in 1909 at the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. in Dundee, 79.3 metres long with an 11-metre beam, she was torpedoed by SM U-95 on 13 November 1917 while carrying general cargo from London to Cork. The attack in St George's Channel, 13 nautical miles west-southwest of the Coningbeg Lightship, killed 19 of her 27 crew. The cumulative losses nearly bankrupted the company. After the war, they rebuilt -- replacing the Ardmore with the SS Ardmore II. The wreck lies in St George's Channel off the Wexford coast.
SS Coningbeg
Two ships. One U-boat. Two days. Eighty-three dead -- sixty-seven of them from a city of just 28,000 people. On 15 December 1917, U-62 torpedoed the SS Formby on the Liverpool to Waterford route. Bad weather delayed the news. Two days later, the SS Coningbeg sailed the same route, unaware her sister ship lay on the bottom. U-62 was still there. All 44 aboard the Coningbeg perished. Originally built as SS Clodagh by Ailsa Shipbuilders in Troon in 1903, the Coningbeg was a Clyde Shipping Company cargo vessel serving the Waterford trade. The dive site off the Wexford coast features strong currents but prolific fish life and colourful marine growth. Together with the Formby, this twin tragedy remains one of the worst maritime disasters of WWI off the Irish coast.
SS Formby
Nobody in Waterford knew. Bad weather had cut the telegraph, and it was assumed the Formby had simply sheltered from the storm. In reality, U-62 had torpedoed the Clyde Shipping Company cargo vessel on 15 December 1917 while she carried cattle from Waterford to Liverpool, killing all 35 crew. Two days later, her sister ship SS Coningbeg sailed the same route into the same waiting U-boat. All 44 aboard the Coningbeg died too. Of the 83 killed across both sinkings, 67 were from Waterford and surrounding communities including Faithlegg and Cheekpoint. The double tragedy devastated the waterfront community and is commemorated as one of the worst maritime disasters of World War I off the Irish coast.
SS Idaho
Walk into Kehoe's Pub in Kilmore Quay and you'll find the bell. An excellent model of the Idaho sits alongside it, commemorating the iron-hulled sailing steamer that ran aground on Coningmore Rocks off Great Saltee Island in dense fog on 1 June 1878. Built by Palmers of Jarrow for the Liverpool & Great Western Steam Company, the 3,500-ton Idaho was carrying 151 passengers, 51 horses, cattle, and 1,000 tons of beef from New York to Liverpool. She drifted off the rock and sank within 20 minutes, but remarkably every soul aboard was rescued. The collapsed wreckage sits on bright sand at 15-25 metres and is one of the main dive sites around the Saltees. An anchor stands at the Kilmore Quay marina gate. Strong and unpredictable tidal currents demand neap-tide diving.
SS Lennox
Chased by a U-boat, a Chinese crew made a desperate choice. In 1917, while evading a German submarine near the Saltee Islands, the SS Lennox struck rocks behind Great Saltee Island and went down. Her Chinese crew swam to the island and then onward to Kilmore -- all surviving. The broken wreckage lies at 10-18 metres in sheltered water behind Great Saltee, marked by a buoy. Two large boilers rise to within 5 metres of the surface -- the most prominent features of the dive. The bow is still recognisable, pointing seaward, and a three-cylinder engine is visible among the wreckage. Conger eels inhabit the broken structure. At 107 metres long, the Lennox was built in 1895 and is now one of the most accessible wreck dives from Kilmore Quay, suitable for novice divers.
SS Lismore
Twenty-eight hours on a hatch cover. That was how 46-year-old John Carley from Wexford Town survived the sinking of the SS Lismore -- clinging to debris in open sea until he washed ashore, the sole survivor. All 18 crew members drowned when this City of Cork Steam Packet Company cargo ship sank off Hook Head on 11 July 1924, carrying cattle and Ford Motor Company parts from Cork to Liverpool. The wreck lies at 35-38 metres and is regularly dived by Hook Sub-Aqua Club, who marked the centenary in 2024 by placing a memorial plaque on the wreck. A commemorative ceremony was held at Kilmore Quay where relatives of the lost crew handed the plaque to the divers. Boat dive from Kilmore Quay or Slade Harbour.
SV Invercauld
Ornate ironwork on the bow, intact after more than a century on the seabed. The SV Invercauld (III) was a 1,416 GRT three-masted steel barque, 237.5 feet long, attacked by the German submarine U-84 on 22 February 1917 while carrying timber from Gulfport, Mississippi, to Fleetwood. After sustaining damage approximately 22 miles southeast of Mine Head, she drifted and sank just south of the Coningmore Rocks near the Saltee Islands. The wreck sits remarkably upright at about 25 metres and is discernible throughout her entire length -- one of the most structurally intact wrecks in the Saltees group. The boilers rise 4 metres off the seabed. Strange and unpredictable currents make this a dive for adequately trained divers only; the current on the shot line may differ significantly from bottom conditions.
SV Royal Arthur
Somewhere in six metres of water off Hook Head, walrus tusks may still lie among the wreckage. The SV Royal Arthur ran aground in 1850 carrying this unusual cargo, and while tusks have been found over the years, some are thought to remain hidden in the scattered debris on the west side of the peninsula. This is a shore dive straight off the camping area -- about as easy as wreck diving gets. But the real draw may be what surrounds it: the extraordinary underwater caverns along Hook Head's western shoreline, where sunlight penetrates through blowholes to create dramatic cathedral-like illumination. Strong tidal currents around the headland require slack water diving. A unique combination of historical curiosity and natural spectacle.
Schlesien
Forget the trawler wreckage for a moment. What makes this site extraordinary is what lies alongside it -- an interconnected cavern system beneath the Hook Head promontory, lit by shafts of sunlight streaming through blowholes above. The Schlesien's scattered remains sit on the west side of the peninsula in 5-10 metres, and they provide a useful focal point for what is really a combined wreck-and-cave shore dive. Cathedral-like lighting fills the chambers as the sun moves overhead. Tidal currents require slack water timing, but the shallow depth and shore access make this ideal for less experienced divers who want something more memorable than a typical training dive. Easily combined with the nearby SV Royal Arthur site.