The Ellen Vannin Tragedy
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Sna Fell, Dingwall, Ben MaCree, fourteen ships had sailed the sea,
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Proudly bearing a Manx name, but there’s one will never again.
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Oh Ellen Vannin of the Isle of Man Company,
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Oh Ellen Vannin lost in the Irish sea.
At 1a.m. in Ramsay Bay, Captain Thier was heard to say,
Our contract says deliver the mail, in this rough weather we must not fail.
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Ocean liners sheltered from the storm, Ellen Vannin on the waves was borne,
Her hold was full and battened down, as she sailed towards old Liverpool town.
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With her crew of 21 Manx men, her passengers Liverpool business men,
Farewell to Mona’s Isle, farewell, this little ship is bound for Hell.
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Less than a mile from the Bar Lightship, by a mighty wave Ellen Vannin was hit,
She sank in the waters off Liverpool Bay, and there she lies unto this day.
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Few Manx men now remember, 3rd day of the month December,
Terrible storm in 1909, Ellen Vannin sailed for the very last time.
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The name, 'Ellan Vannin' is the Manx Gaelic name for 'the island of Mannin', the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea at the centre of the Celtic world, from where the great god, Manannan Mac Lir, rules the sea. The vessel itself was called the 'Ellan Vannin', so perhaps found under other spellings. The vessel also had a nickname, the 'Li'l (Little) Daisy'.
On 3 December 1909, she left Ramsey in the Isle of Man to sail to Liverpool. As she was entering the River Mersey, she was apparently swamped by a wave which broke over her stern, and she sank with loss of all aboard. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has never used the name 'Ellan Vannin' for any of its vessels since.
A great 20th Century collector of Manx folklore, music, dance, etc was Mona Douglas. According to Mona, her mother was heavily pregnant with Mona when she set off to visit relations in Liverpool in 1898. Unexpectedly, she went into early labour, so Mona Douglas says she was born on board the 'Ellan Vannin'. Later, her father was due to go to Liverpool on board the 'Ellan Vannin', but Mona says she had some sort of vision of burning out on the sea, and she begged her father not to go. Her father was willing to humour her, so he didn't go. That was the night that the 'Ellan Vannin' went down.
The story of the wreck of the 'Ellan Vannin' was in a book by Fred Henry about the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Ltd that big John Kaneen sent to Hughie Jones of The Spinners. Hughie made the song about the wreck of the 'Ellan Vannin' from the information there.
These three boat names give a nice picture of the Isle of Man for those unfamiliar with the place. Snaefell is the highest hill/mountain/fell. Means Snow Fell (Old Norse, lots of Viking invaders). Tynwald is the litte hill at St Johns where the parliament has been meeting for more than a thousand years (compare other places called Dingwall, Thingvellir etc etc throughout the Scandinavian world, all meaning parliament place). Ben-my Chree means woman of my heart (Manx Gaelic, lots of Irish invaders).