US destroyer cannot dock in Rosslare

April 1994

A weekend visit by the US Naval Destroyer ‘Commodore John Barry’ to Wexford had to be cancelled because Rosslare Harbour was not able to accommodate the ship.

The revelation was made at a meeting of the Rosslare Harbour Development Committee on Tuesday night, when Cllr Leo Carthy asked why the ship had been refused permission to dock.

Cllr. Carthy said the destroyer had a crew of 300 and was also carrying a team of journalists and an American TV crew, which would have given great publicity to the area.

‘Local man Ibar Murphy had worked very hard with an associate of his in America to arrange this visit, and I would like to know why the ship couldn’t be accommodated. I understand it will now be docking in Cobh instead,’ he said.

Walter Morrissey of Irish Rail said he wasn’t aware of any formal request to allow the destroyer to berth in the Rosslare Harbour, but it was possible that the Harbour Master and the captain of the ship were in contact with one another about it.

‘ This matter was not on the agenda and if I had known, I would have had the information with me,’ he said.

Wexford Town Clerk Don Curtin confirmed that the vessel had wished to dock in Rosslare but said that the harbour just didn’t have the draught to accommodate it. The draught of the ship was some three metres greater than what the harbour could handle.

Mr Curtin said that there is a big dome underneath the ship, containing armaments, which made it too big for the Harbour.

He added that despite the fact that the ship couldn’t dock at Rosslare, the Corporation were hopeful that a detail from the ship would attend the Barry Day celebrations in the town in June.