Shallow Wreck Dives in Ireland (Under 20m)

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.

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.

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.

Few wrecks carry the emotional weight of the Rohilla. This Harland & Wolff-built liner had been requisitioned as a hospital ship just weeks into the First World War and was steaming south from Scotland to collect wounded soldiers from France when a northeast gale drove her onto Whitby Rock in the early hours of 30 October 1914. With shore lights blacked out for wartime, her crew never saw the reef. What followed was a three-day rescue drama that gripped the nation — lifeboats launching repeatedly into mountainous seas, spectators lining the cliffs, and 83 lives lost despite extraordinary courage from the rescuers. Most of the dead were doctors and nurses. Today the wreck lies flattened in shallow water off Saltwick Bay, accessible as a shore dive when conditions allow. The site is a war grave. At low spring tides, structural remains break the surface — a stark reminder visible to anyone walking the coastal path above.

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.

Lying in just 12 metres of water off Bracklesham Bay, HMS A1 holds a unique place in British naval history: she was the very first submarine designed and built in this country for the Royal Navy. Constructed by Vickers in 1903, she had already survived one sinking — a collision with SS Berwick Castle in 1904 that killed eleven crew before she was raised — when she was repurposed as an unmanned torpedo target. In August 1911, operating on automatic pilot, she sank for good off Selsey Bill. Tidal currents slowly dragged her five miles along the seabed to her present position. The hull is virtually intact, with the bow standing proud while the stern disappears beneath a sandbank. Protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act since 1998, she requires a permit to dive, and the Nautical Archaeology Society has established a structured dive trail for visiting divers. For anyone interested in submarine heritage, there is no more historically significant shallow dive in British waters.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Missouri holds a special place in Anglesey diving — she is the largest vessel ever wrecked close inshore on the island's west coast, and one of the few worthwhile wrecks you can reach by wading in from a sandy beach. A March blizzard in 1886 drove this Warren Line barque-rigged steamer ashore at Porth Dafarch with a cargo manifest that reads like a Victorian general store: live cattle, thousands of cotton bales, sacks of flour, hides, and palm oil. Her remains now lie in two main sections across the bay, the forward part in the middle and the stern hard against the western cliffs, all at an easy 14 metres or less. The shore-dive access from Porth Dafarch beach makes her ideal for newly qualified divers looking for their first proper wreck experience, while the sheer scale of the debris field — from a ship of over 5,000 tons — gives experienced divers plenty to explore on repeat visits.

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.

Tucked against the east shore of Rysa Little, the V83 is a footnote to the great scuttling that became a dive site in its own right. When the order came to open the seacocks on 21 June 1919, British sailors boarded this torpedo boat destroyer and ran her aground before she could sink. Ernest Cox later pressed her into service during his audacious campaign to raise the battleship Hindenburg, and an unsuccessful attempt to refloat her in 1926 left her where she sits today — upright on a gentle slope, broken into two halves. The bow section is fragmented in about eight metres; the stern sits more recognisably in 15 to 16. There is rarely any current, and the maximum depth barely troubles a single-cylinder pony bottle. For divers arriving in Orkney with basic qualifications, or veterans looking for a gentle warm-up, the V83 is an ideal introduction to Scapa Flow — a bite-sized piece of the same history that lies in the deep water beyond.

Resting in the shallow waters of Studland Bay lie seven Valentine infantry tanks — silent witnesses to the deadly rehearsals that preceded D-Day. In April 1944, during the top-secret Exercise "Operation Smash," these tanks were testing duplex-drive swimming modifications that would allow armour to float ashore on the Normandy beaches. The trials went tragically wrong: all seven sank, and six soldiers lost their lives. Today the tanks sit between 8 and 16 metres, encrusted with marine growth and surrounded by an ecosystem that has made them its own. Two are permanently buoyed and spaced roughly five metres apart, making them easy to locate. As a Scheduled Ancient Monument, the site carries strict legal protections — look but do not touch. For divers of any level, swimming alongside these D-Day training relics is a moving and accessible encounter with one of the war's lesser-known tragedies.

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.

The F2 never fired a shot at Scapa Flow, but she sank there all the same — dragged under by a winter storm on 30 December 1946, more than a year after the war she was built to fight had ended. A Geleiteboot escort boat, she was one of ten experimental vessels fitted with temperamental high-pressure Brown-Boveri turbines that gave her 28 knots but a reputation for mechanical misery. Lengthened by four metres in 1938 and repurposed as a torpedo recovery vessel, she surrendered to the Royal Navy in 1945 and was towed north to Scapa. Her stern now sits upright in 16 to 18 metres, with the forward section listing on its side — a compact, navigable wreck linked by a 30-metre line to the salvage barge YC21 that sank nearby in 1968 while attempting to scrap her. A 20mm gun from the F2 ended up on the barge, a small absurdity that divers can verify for themselves. At barely 18 metres, she is an ideal second dive or warm-up before the deeper German fleet wrecks.

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.

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.

The Dakotian's end came with shocking speed. A Heinkel 111H bomber dropped a parachute magnetic mine into Milford Haven in November 1940, and when it detonated against the anchored cargo steamer she went down in barely three minutes — one of the earliest parachute mine casualties in Welsh waters. At 6,426 tons she was a substantial vessel, and even lying on her side she retains enough structure to fill a dive. The depth range of 7 to 19 metres puts her within reach of intermediate divers, though the visibility in this part of Milford Haven can be challenging and the tides demand respect. What the site lacks in crystal water it makes up for in atmosphere: swimming along a 120-metre hull canted on its beam ends, knowing how suddenly and violently her war ended, gives the Dakotian a sombre character that clear-water wrecks sometimes lack.

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.

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.

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.

A Greek steamer laden with Black Sea grain, the Spyridion Vagliano met the same fate as so many vessels on the Manacles — a navigational miscalculation that put her squarely onto Maen Voes on a February night in 1890. Fourteen of her twenty-two crew were lost to the freezing water. She now lies close to the more famous Mohegan, reachable by following a south-west compass bearing from that wreck down to around 18 metres. What sets her apart is the boiler: with its outer casing long since rotted away, the internal tube structure is exposed in unusual detail, offering a cross-section lesson in Victorian marine engineering. In summer the wreckage disappears under dense kelp, so spring and autumn visits tend to reward with clearer views. The site makes a natural second dive when paired with the Mohegan on a Manacles boat trip.