HMS ‘Caroline’ to open for remembrance event after €19m refit

HMS Indefatigable exploded after it was hit several times in the opening minutes of the Battle of Jutland in late May 1916, hurling pieces of the battle cruiser 60m in the air. Stoker John Moriarty (23), from Bere Island, was one of those to die.

Fifty other Cork men were killed alongside him. By the battle’s end, more than 8,500 sailors from the Royal Navy and German’s Kriegsmarine were dead, including 300 Irish men from all parts of the island.

Next month, the service of 10,000 Irish men during the first World War will be remembered in Belfast with the opening to the public of a light cruiser, HMS Caroline, which took part in the war's biggest naval battle.

Currently it is coming to the end of a £15 million (€19 million) refit in Alexandra Dock in Belfast’s Queen Island, through support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Stormont’s Department of Trade and Investment (DETI).

Specialist workers from Britain, Ireland and Poland are working hard to ensure it is ready for unveiling on May 31st.

Decking

Specialist joiners from Gdansk in Poland have come to lay sustainable iroko hardwood decking: “The decking would originally have been teak but you can’t do it in teak because you can’t get it sustainably.

"There has been 6,000km of caulking to do where they put the two bits of timber together and fill the joint to make it waterproof," says project manager Jonathan Porter.

“We used grit blasting to blast all the paint back to bare metal and workmen had to shovel off about four tonnes of grit every day, so that was a huge exercise. Every time you pull something down you find another issue to deal with.

“But it’s incredibly rewarding as there is only one of these, so it’s a great scheme to work on. It has been challenging. It is extremely complex,” he said.

Restoration

Royal Navy captain John Rees OBE has been leading the complex restoration programme in partnership with the DETI:

“She’s a wonderful old girl,” he said, “a living legend. We are breathing new life into what is an internationally significant piece of world history.

“This is a world class heritage asset and the only ship remaining from the grand and high seas fleet of some 250 vessels.”

Descendants of many of the Irish who died in the battle will be in attendance at the Belfast Commemoration to the Irish Sailor on May 31st, including representatives from the Royal Navy and the Naval Service.

Senior politicians will be present, too, along with a German admiral. Meanwhile, the ports of Ireland, Irish Lights and maritime emergency services will also gather with families of those who served.