On Sunday 4 May 1902, a tragic drowning accident occurred on Galway Bay. Shortly after noon on that fateful Sunday, eight young men set off in Colman Greene’s boat to sail to Kilcolgan Point at Tawin Island.
The eight young men included Michael Dwyer, married with two children, Patrick Folan, married with one child. The others were single, Patrick McDonogh, John Barrett, Michael Burke, Patrick Walsh, Stephen Hynes, all eighteen and Patrick Byrne, twenty-two years of age. There was a fresh breeze blowing as they left Galway and when they were about a quarter of a mile off Tawin the accident occurred. According to one contemporary newspaper The Galway Observer, it was while the sailors were lashing the sail to the mast that the boat capsized. Three men disappeared almost immediately, and five men surfaced. People on Tawin who witnessed the boat capsizing were horrified as they watched helplessly at the five men trying to swim towards shore. Soon other villagers gathered on the shoreline and were shocked as the tragedy unfolded before them. There was no chance of a rescue as there were no boats within miles of the scene. The unfortunate young men underwent a slow torture in their bid for survival. Being utterly exhausted, one by one scrummed to the sea. It seems that one of the men, Michael Burke, reached the shore and some reports stated that he died on the beach. Others mention that he was already dead when washed ashore.
One eyewitness on Kilcolgan Point reported that the accident occurred less than a mile off the shore sometime between 1.00 and 2.00 p.m. He was among a group of people watching helplessly as the young men lost their lives. One man mounted a horse and galloped into Galway bringing the sad news. Later that evening a boat from the Claddagh fleet set out to investigate and returned to confirm the tragedy. The remains of Michael Burke, Patrick Walsh and Michael Dwyer were recovered almost immediately. They were buried within days. The remains of the other victims were not recovered until three weeks later. On 9 May 1902 an appeal committee was set up at a public meeting held in the Claddagh School. The appeal was generously supported with donations being received from many quarters. In September 2003, a monument commemorating the tragedy was erected at Ballyknow Quay, Claddagh.
