The St Anthony; a Contextual History

Cormac Levis

As an early example of a small, motorised fishing boat, the St Anthony represents an important developmental stage in the history of traditional West Cork boatbuilding, marking the transition from sail and oar to engine propulsion. Built on Sherkin Island in 1925 by Simie McCarthy and Danny O’Regan, for Florence Nolan, also of Sherkin, this twenty-eight foot boat was fitted with a 6/7 Kelvin engine and an emergency lug sail. In the 1930s she joined the sand boat fleet landing calcium-rich sea sand as fertiliser for the agriculture industry, before rejoining the fishing fleet in the 1960s. In the 1970s she returned to her native Sherkin Island when she was bought by Richard Collins. She is currently being rebuilt on Sherkin as part of a boatbuilding course given by Nigel Towse and Ronan Collins with technical advice from Liam Hegarty and financial support from Creative Places, West Cork Islands – another milestone in the preservation of our local boatbuilding and maritime heritage.

Baltimore Sailing Club
8pm Friday 22 May 2026