The Kerlogue Generation
We are a non profit organization dedicated to promoting education and information to the communities of The Kerlogue Generation.
Photo Left: Crew of the MV Kerlogue. From left to right, Tom Grannell, Tom O’Neill, Dick Roche, Gary Roche (father of Dick Roche and the former minister and FF TD for Wicklow), Chum Roche.
About The Kerlogue Generation
Twenty thousand years ago, Irish ancestors made the epic journey from continental Europe by a wide land bridge that we now call 'Doggerland', before finally settling in Ireland.
After the Dark Ages, the Irish brought learning back to Great Britain and Europe. The Irish supplied nearly one third of the manpower at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Twenty thousand years ago, Irish ancestors made the epic journey from continental Europe by a wide land bridge that we now call 'Doggerland', before finally settling in Ireland.
After the Dark Ages, the Irish brought learning back to Great Britain and Europe. The Irish supplied nearly one third of the manpower at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pre and post WW1 and WW2, the Irish worked as educators and helped to build Britain. The Irish contributed a large percentage of the military personnel in both world wars and were highly decorated for their bravery.
During the horror of the Blitz in Great Britain, the Irish, from a country who before colonial invasion, had the first hospitals in Europe, braved mines and torpedoes to nurse in Great Britain and won the British monarchy’s newly created bravery award, the George Medal.
In 1948, the Irish introduced their model of the medical service i
During the horror of the Blitz in Great Britain, the Irish, from a country who before colonial invasion, had the first hospitals in Europe, braved mines and torpedoes to nurse in Great Britain and won the British monarchy’s newly created bravery award, the George Medal.
In 1948, the Irish introduced their model of the medical service in Britain, helping to found, and for many decades after, became the backbone of the newly formed National Health Service.
Yet today, in the 21st century, the Irish in Great Britain still face racism, inequality, and their achievements are often overlooked, even by those in high office, who claim to support the Irish.
In the history of the Irish journey of migration to Great Britain, there were no comfortable passenger liners, such as the ‘HMT Empire Windrush’.
Arriving from a severely impoverished and abused, post-colonial Ireland, cattle boats and cardboard suitcases was all that was afforded to most.
The Afro-Caribbean community's migration to Gre
In the history of the Irish journey of migration to Great Britain, there were no comfortable passenger liners, such as the ‘HMT Empire Windrush’.
Arriving from a severely impoverished and abused, post-colonial Ireland, cattle boats and cardboard suitcases was all that was afforded to most.
The Afro-Caribbean community's migration to Great Britain is represented by the 1948 arrival of the Passenger Liner, ‘HMT Empire Windrush’. The Irish community's migration has yet to be represented. We aim to change that with our work to have the Kerlogue Generation recognised.
The Irish should be afforded monuments & Westminster Abbey services, in the very same way that other communities have been honoured for their contribution to Britain.
The spirit of the Irish community is best illustrated by the M.V. Kerlogue, whose crew on the 29th December 1943, risked their lives and the safety of their small ship, battling the icy waters and enormous waves, in the Bay of Biscay, to rescue 168 shipwrecked sailors. Not built for the deep sea, the Kerlogue was a coaster, and only a mere 142 feet long. One third of the size of her peers. Despite this, her crew battled for 10 hours, until well after the light diminished, to save as many men as they could.Those rescued were put in every spare space “…Cabins, storerooms and alleyways were soon packed with shivering, soaked and sodden men; others were placed in the engine room where it became so crowded that Chief engineer Eric Giggins could not move around to attend his machinery, and so by signs – as none spoke English – he got the survivors to move the instruments he could not reach…”
The remarkable bravery of the Kerlogue’s crew, who gave, not just first aid, but their own dry change of clothes to the rescued men, ensured that only 4 of the most badly wounded sailors from the German Navy, did not make it to Ireland. Although the Kerlogue had been attacked by both sides in WW2, she rescued people from both sides. Lieutenant-Commander Jaochim Quedenfelt who was the senior German officer rescued. He described: “The little ship bravely moving through the enormous waves ..”. He requested that his men be landed in La Rochelle or Brest but the Kerlogue refused and headed back to Ireland. Its notable that the German Lieutenant-Commander did not force a landing in France, although he easily could have done so, considering the Germans numbers in comparison with the modest number of Irish crewmen.Captain Donohue was being instructed by the British authorities to land in Fishguard. However, with the survivor’s poor health and few supplies he decided to turn off the radio and head for Cork which was nearer.After an exhausting trip the Kerlogue finally made its way back to Dublin on the 5th of January 1944......
A letter from the German ambassador, Dr Hempel, was delivered to Captain Donohue in which he expressed his thanks most beautifully: “…To you and your crew my profound gratitude as well as my high appreciation of unhesitating valiant spirit which has prompted you to perform this exemplary deed, worthy of the great tradition of Irish gallantry and humanity…”The rescued Germans remained at the Curragh Internment Camp until the war was over. Two of them, Petty Officer Helmut Weiss and Lieutenant Braatz, are buried in the German War Cemetery at Glencree, County Wicklow.During the war, there were never more than 800 men serving on Irish ships. One hundred and forty nine of them lost their lives and many more were seriously wounded. Few combat units had such a casualty rate. Speaking in Seanad Éireann on 27 April 1994, Senator Roche said: “My late father was a seaman with the Wexford Steamship Company. He served the nation, like so many young men, through dangerous times in the war years. In every sense he and his colleagues put their lives on the line day after day, in ships which today would not be licensed to go on the high seas, to bring supplies to this nation. Many of his colleagues and friends and many people from Wexford and around the coast paid the ultimate price in serving this nation by losing their lives. The ships were so rickety, old and derelict that we would not go to sea in them today. Yet, these brave, perhaps foolhardy, men crossed the Atlantic, went to the Mediterranean and North African coast and kept Ireland supplied with vital provisions. My father’s ship, the Kerlogue, was involved in one of the great rescues of the war. One of the proudest possessions I have is a decoration awarded to him and other members of the crew for rescuing German sailors in the Bay of Biscay in December 1943, when they hauled hundreds of young men from the water and carried them, under threat from the RAF and the Royal Navy, to safety in Cork.To commemorate this rescue, on 27th May 1994, six German Naval ships visited Dun Laoghaire. There was a ceremony in the Old Mariners’ Church attended by President Mary Robinson. Later some of the German survivors presented Richard Roche, member of the crew of the Kerlogue, with a painting of the rescue.
The Irish have much to be proud of and need to firmly establish their identity and anchor their achievements.