Relatives of victims to attend Rosslare Harbour ceremonies
MORE than 500 people are expected in Rosslare Harbour later this month to attend commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tuskar Rock Air crash, the cause of which remains one of the most enduring mysteries of our times.
Fifty-seven passengers and four crew members died in the disaster when the Aer Lingus Vickers Viscount ‘St Phelim’ spiralled out of the sky and crashed into the dark and deep waters 1.7 nautical miles off Tuskar Rock.
Thirty five of the passeners were Irish, nine were Swiss, six were from Belgium, five were British, and two were American. The names of all the victims will be read out during the commemorations.
Only 14 bodies were ever recovered the site of the crash, the worst in Irish aviation history.
‘We’re going to have a lot of relatives attending on the day,’ said Sean Boyce, media liaison person on the committee formed in Rosslare Harbour to arrange and co-ordinate the commemoration.
‘While some of the relatives are holding their own private ceremonies in Cork and various other places, the majority have said they will be coming to Rosslare Harbour,’ he said.
The commemorations will start at 11 a.m. with a flotilla of vessels, led by the LE Eithne heading from the harbour to the place off Tuskar Rock where the aircraft crashed into the sea.
The flotilla will include vessels from the Irish Coast Guard, the RNLI and some local fishing boats, with a wreath-laying due to take place, at the time the airliner is believed to have crashed.
Following this, at 2.30 p.m. there will be a land-based public commemoration at the Rosslare Harbour Memorial Park attended by diplomats from the Belgium and Swiss embassies, Minister Paul Kehoe, representing the government, Wexford councillors, members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association, representatives from Aer Lingus, the coast guard, the RNLI, Irish Lights and the Naval Service.
‘Everthing is going to happen in Rosslare Harbour where a memorial stone will be unveiled,’ said Sean.
‘There will also be a further wreath-laying. The focus for us is the commemoration on behalf of the relatives and the local community which was heavily impacted by the disaster,’ he said. Music for the commemoration will be provided by the Band of the 1st Southern Brigade of the defence forces, the Kilrane National School Choir and the Wexford Male Voice Choir. Contemporary news cuttings and photographs from the time of the disaster will be on show at the Hotel Rosslare. Asked about the controversy over what caused the crash 50 years on, Sean said that while members of the committee had their personal views and opinions, it was important to keep the commemoration dignified and not to speculate on what may have happened to the airliner. ‘I don’t think at this stage, we’ll ever know the cause,’ he said.