East Pier Maritime Murals

  I created my mural of the Irish Lights Tender 'Granuaile' and the Kish Lighthouse along the East Pier in March 2024. I painted the sea vessel first and upon discovering to my surprise that my mural frame was too large, I opted to add the Kish - as both come under the management of the Commissioners of Irish Lights and both had revolutionary designs for their time. This mural is one of my favourite works. Ie was especially taken with the distinctive design of the 'Granuaile', with her unique large frontal accommodation feature. The 'Granuaile' is often anchored in Wicklow Bay as part of her rotational trips along the east coast, while the lights of the Kish may be seen on a clear night from the pier. The 'Granuaile' was delivered to Irish Lights in January 2000 as one of the most advanced vessels of her type in the world at the time. She was a prototype for new builds for Trinity House (England & Wales), the Northern Lighthouse Board (Scotland) and ...

My mural on the East Pier of the cargo ship, the 'MV Scot Explorer' in late December 2019 has an interesting back-story. The vessel was built in the Royal Bodewes Shipyard in The Netherlands and launched in October 2019. She was delivered in December of that year to its owner, Scotline Limited in Romford, sailing under the UK flag. She was 90 meters length and 15 meters beam. Yet when I commenced my mural in September 2019, my original plan was to paint her sister Scotline cargo ship, the 'MV Scot Carrier'. Progress on my 'Carrier' work was hampered by prolonged bad weather, however. Truth be told, I had an unlucky feeling about the vessel's name. Then in late December, Ie was informed by the local Conway Port Agency that the 'Scot Explorer' was scheduled to make her maiden voyage arriving in Wicklow harbour in a few days time. As the 'Carrier' and the 'Explorer' shared a similar design, barring the latter's enclosed wheelhouse, I...

The 'LÉ Grainne', a Coastal Mine Sweeper sea vessel, was the first own-mural which I painted on the East Pier wall in 1976. (I had previously restored one other mural of the 'Eliana' cargo ship, which was created by another artist). In the late 1960s, the future viability of the Irish Naval Service was in serious doubt due to the  very low stock of its national fleet at the time. Then in 1971, the Navy Service procured three vessels of a similar design of the Royal Navy Coniston class: the 'LÉ Grainne' (formerly the 'HMS Oulston'), the 'LÉ Banba' (formerly the 'HMS Alderton') and the 'LÉ Fola' (formerly the 'HMS Blaxton'). Collectively, the vessels came under the Ton Class, given their shared Royal Navy  name-endings. The three vessels would periodically visit Wicklow harbour as part of their duty of maintaining contact with different coastal ports. On occasions, the vessels were made available for local people to come on ...

The Viking long ship, 'The Sea Stallion of Glendalough' was painted by me on the East Pier in July 2008. She was an ocean-going thoroughbred reconstruction of 'Skuldelev 2', a large longship from the Viking Age. Some 30m in length, the long ship was reconstructed by the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark in 2004. Based on recent wood and tree-ring analyses, the original ship was built in accordance with Scandinavian shipbuilding traditions in Dublin around the year 1042. The ship is thus linked with the Scandinavian expansion westwards and the history of the Vikings in Ireland. Without doubt the ship was also on the scene of many dramatic events that occurred at the end of the Viking Age, after William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066. In 2007, the Sea Stallion undertook a voyage from her home port, Roskilde, Denmark to Dublin. On reaching the River Liffey, she was lifted and hosted in Collins Barracks Museum where she was on display for visitors for a year until her re...

  I painted my mural of the 'Westereems' on the East Pier in early September 2024. The Dutch 'WESTEREEMS' was one of the first ships that I saw as a young lad whenever I escaped from home to the harbour in the latter half of the 1960s. As a 10 year old, I found this vessel very impressive and in great condition in keeping with the Dutch shipping tradition. The ship was built in 1960 and at some stage before her appearance at Wicklow was converted to carry livestock for export to Continental and English ports. This export trade was managed by the Herbst family from Kilpoole Hill and Frank Conway Shipping Agents, and lasted into the mid-70s, with many other different vessels involved along the way. There was a cattle lairage on the South Quay and from there, batches of cattle were herded out to the ships at the East Pier. Many people used to sit on the top of the pier in the evenings to watch this fascinating operation! Eventually, this vessel was sold on to different own...

  My mural of the legendary yacht, 'Moonduster' was completed on 11th August 2024 on the East Pier wall. She was designed by German Frers Jnr and was launched in Crosshaven, Co. Cork in Spring 1981. Her equally-legendary owner-skipper was Denis Doyle. Together, they shared a glittering 20-year partnership in the Europen off-shore racing scene. They competed in the early years of the Round Ireland Yacht Race from Wicklow harbour, winning the race in 1984 in a record time of 88hrs and 15mins. This record was held for a number of years. It was a wonderful double act that ended with his death in 2001 shortly after completing his final Fastnet race aged 81 aboard his beloved boat. I recall how when the majestic 'Moonduster' berthed in Wicklow harbour, local people were amazed by the yacht's unique styling and glistening timber construction. In 2002, 'Moonduster' was sold to a seemingly well-resourced Norwegian who had plans to incorporate her into his planned off...

  Created in my signature circular mural style, my evocative new painting on the East Pier is a tribute to all those seafarers who sailed from Wicklow harbour and who never returned home. Specifically, it is dedicated to the crewmen of the schooner 'Eva' (portrayed here off the Black Castle) on passage from Wicklow to Garston on the Mersey who died at sea in foggy conditions off north Wales on 2nd July 1915.  Micheal Kinsealla master 35yrs, captain Thomas Kinsella (retired) mate 69yrs and Thomas Reilly able seaman 24yrs were all from Castle Street, Wicklow Town RIP. I was requested in 2023 by John McInnerney, originally from Wicklow Town, to engage in the making of a new mural dedicated to all local seafarers who lost their lives at sea. Passers-by have described viewing my mural as akin to looking through a telescope back into time.

  The 'Patricia' is a general cargo vessel that I painted on the East Pier in the early 1990s. She was built in 1971 by Vard Aukra, Norway, under its original name, 'Sudfjord' and then changed name to 'Patricia' in 1988. She was a regular trader to Wicklow harbour in the late 1980s / early 1990s, loading at the Packet Pier with construction aggregate of stone and gravel from Balleese Wood Quarry, Rathdrum, which was owned by the Morrissey family. Her cargo was delivered to Barking Creek, near the Thames River, London. Re-painted in the mid-1980s, the 'Patricia' was always well-maintained and admired by local people for her general appearance. The letters 'PAK' visible on the mural are thought to be a reference to the initials of the first names of the Morressey family's children. I am the proud owner of the ship's Irish flag! The vessel was renamed (somewhat ironically!) the 'Pat' in 1994 after which she was based in the Dominican...

  A chance encounter was the inspiration behind my mural of the 'Ocean Phoenix', a fibreglass sailing pleasure boat which I painted on the East Pier in the mid-1990s and revitalised in March 2024. The boat's owner was Dave Wilding, a retired Royal Navy officer from Caernarfon, a port  town in Gwynedd, Wales. One day, when berthing along the East Pier, he noticed me at work on one of his murals. He requested that I consider paining his boat. I replied that I would, but I had to put it on the long finger due to other commitments. Some time later, I learned of the sad news that Dave had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. This gave me the impetus to paint Dave's pride and joy on the pier. Upon his next visit to Wicklow harbour (this time and from then onwards over the next six years until his passing, with the help of a crew member or two), Dave was ecstatic to see the completed mural of his beloved 'Ocean Phoenix'. Two years after the painting of the mural, Da...

My mural of the 'LÉ Orla' (P41) was painted on the East Pier in 2019.  She was a peacock-class patrol vessel in the Irish Naval Service. Like the rest of her class, she was originally designed for use by the British Royal Navy in Hong Kong waters, and was delivered and launched in 1985 by Hall, Russell & Company as HMS Swift. The ship was named after Orla, a grand niece of Brian Boru who was murdered by her husband around 1090. The crest shows the arms of Clare on the top segment and a sword and royal collar on the base. She was the sister ship of 'LÉ Ciara'. Based in Haulbowline Naval Base, Cork, she patrolled mostly off the south-east coast of Ireland. I recall that the vessel was very efficient in its operations, with a small crew of 39. She was of a suitable draught (approx. 9ft) to enable her to dock from time to time in Wicklow port. In November 2008, the 'LÉ Orla' assisted in Operation Seabight which resulted in one of the largest seizure of cocaine i...

  The 'PS Waverley' is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world.  She was named after Sir Walter Scott's first novel and was built in 1946 by A & J Inglis in Glasgow, Scotland to replace a 'PS Waverley' that was sunk in 1940 while helping to evacuate troops from Dunkirk. Bought in 1974 by a registered charity, the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), and following a successful public fund-raising appeal, she was restored to her original 1946 appearance to operate passenger excursions around the British coast. I recall how the vessel's owners decided to operate a short series of passenger tours in 1984 from Dublin port and docking at Wicklow Town, Arklow, and on one occasion onward to Rosslare. A shorter series of tours was conducted in 1985 when I decided to create a mural of the 'Waverley' on the East Pier. I included a Scottish flag in honour of the vessel's Scottish roots. This coincided with my early years worki...

  The sailing vessel, the 'Lovis' is a rebuild from the former Danish steam boat, the 'Malmo' which was built originally in 1897. The rebuild, under her new name the 'Lovis,' was started in 1998 and completed in the Spring of 2000 in Germany. She was converted to a Ketch Rig 2 Master using the original hull, and is in use to this day as a training sailing vessel for youth. She is 13m length and 5m beam, and is based in Greifswald, Germany, sailing predominantly in the Baltic Sea. The 'Lovis' visited Wicklow port only the once in the early 2000s. I began painting the mural of the sailing vessel on the East Pier before she departed, and her crew members were thrilled to see her arrival in Wicklow marked in such a special manner.

  I painted the 'Nordersand' cargo ship or coaster on the East Pier in the early 1980s. She was one of a fleet of eight similar ships built in Japan between 1976 and 77. All of the coasters regularly traded to Wicklow port from the late 1970s. Thanks to their Swedish owners who maintained them very well, the sister vessels were regarded as very modern and stylish for that era, particularly their distinctive swept-back funnels. Initially, the ships traded paper pulp from Scandanavia to Wicklow port, which was stored in Conway's depot on the North Quay for onward transportation to Clondalkin Paper Mills. Later, they traded Scania timber imports and, occasionally, Scania lorry cabs which were sent to a Scania dealer in the Dublin area. In the late 1980s, the vessels loaded with woodchips from Woodfab in Aughrim for export. It was not unusual to see two of the coasters docked in Wicklow port at the same time. I had a good relationship with the crews of all eight vessels. I reca...

  My mural of the 'Alfred Mason' coaster was painted on the East Pier around 2014.  Built in 1919 under the name, the 'Warita', she was one of a fleet of small coasters commissioned by John Summers and built in the small Queensferry Shipyard in Deeside, Wales. He was influenced to build such a fleet due to a slump in coastal trade at the time. Carrying only between 200 to 300 tons, similar to motor barges used on canals, the ships were an ideal size and design to cope with the low shallows of the estuary of the River Dee. In 1974, the vessel was bought over by John Tyrell, one of the few Irish shipowners of that era and a native of County Wicklow. Renamed the 'Alfred Mason', she was purchased from the Port Dinorick Shipping Company in Bangor, North Wales. Tyrell relocated the coaster to Skerries in north County Dublin as a trader importing Welsh coal to Dublin, Wicklow and Arklow, and exporting timber props fron County Wicklow for use in the Welsh coalmines. I r...

  The 'Dvina' is a Norwegian sailing boat which I painted on the East Pier in August 2014. Notable for its classic design, she was built in Russia in 1999 from Norwegian drawings. Her owners were Norwegian husband and wife, Eric Irgens Elling and Anne Nrgren who had a small marine publishing company. In 2014, they embarked on a voyage from Norway to the Azores, and en route decided to anchor off Wicklow harbour near the North Pier before berthing at the East Pier. I approached Eric and Anne and asked them if they would like that I paint a mural of the 'Dvina'. They were thrilled to accept my proposal. Due to the inclement weather conditions, the couple stayed in the port for a week. It took me 20 hours in total over a couple of days during that week to complete my promised mural. The sailing boat generated a lot of interest from local people and it was decided to hold a small mural naming ceremony to which locals brought drinks and buns. As is normal with my murals, my ...

  The 'Rania' was a general cargo ship built in 1966 in the prolific Rendsburg shipyard in West Germany under its original name, the 'Barken'. With its distinctive design, the vessel had 3 goalpost masts and 3 derricks (small cranes to off-load cargo). She could carry up to 1800 tons and she sailed under the flag of Sweden. The vessel traded under two additional names before becoming the 'Rania' from 1982 to 1993. Under this new name, she completely changed her profile, and her masts were replaced by 2 uprights used to lift hatch covers. She ceased trading in 2002 after 36 years as a trader. I painted the 'Rania' on the East Pier in the mid-1980s when she had berthed in Wicklow port with a consignment of steel coils used in house construction ordered by the Veha radiator factory in the town.  During the ship's stay, her captain approached me as I was sketching on the pier and requested that I paint a mural of the boat. I started the mural the next da...

  This Book of Kells-style mural on the East Pier was not originally painted by me, but by Breffni Carroll, a Wicklow man and a keen artist.  He was well known locally for his painting of the Mona Lisa on the upper section of the then-derelict building of the former Rialto cinema in Fitzwilliam Square. The site was subsequently demolished and was replaced by a tourist office and an insurance office. Breffni's circle mural was inspired by the popular celtic design artwork of the renowned artist, Jim Fitzpatrick. He was also influenced by the presence of my own murals along the pier wall. Breffni's figure mural was not maritime-themed. It was painted black on a silver background.  Over the years, his mural gradually deteriorated due to weather conditions, such that by 2018, it had almost disappeared. Determined to restore Breffni's work in appreciation of his art, I  approached him for permission to do so, and Breffni happily agreed.  One day, in the autumn of 201...

  The circular mural of a seahorse was painted by me on the East Pier in 2018. It was inspired by Breffni Carrol's Book of Kells-like mural of 1980, with its distinctive circular shape, which I later restored in 2020, and is adjacent to my seahorse painting. I first became fascinated by seahorses when I viewed one in the former Sea Life Centre in Bray. I was very taken by the elegant and delicate sea creature, and wanted to pay tribute to it with my mural. Seahorses are tiny fish that are named for the shape of their head, which looks like a tiny horse. There are around 36 seahorse species, which are found in tropical and temperate coastal waters where they swim upright among seaweed and other plants. Seahorses’ bodies are covered in tiny, spiny plates, all the way from their head down to their curled, flexible tail. As they are terrible swimmers, their tails can grasp objects, which comes in handy when they want to anchor themselves to vegetation. Seahorses are monogamous and, rem...

  My quirky mural of Sammy the Seal, painted in 2022, completed my trilogy of distinctive circular-design murals on the East Pier -  alongside my tributes to The Seahorse and my restoration of Breffni Carroll's Book of Kells-like painting. I painted Sammy in response to several requests from children passing by on the pier while I was working. Sammy's happy-face portrayal is a great attraction to children and adults alike. Most Wicklowites are familiar with the story of Sammy the Seal's exploits along the South Quay as he frequently rocked up for a fish meal by the Fishman shop. Below is a transcript of an interview with Alan Hegarty of the Fishman shop & the-then Lighthouse restaurant in May 2016. [Source: visitwicklow.ie] “Sammy arrived in 2012 when we opened the fish shop and he has actually trained me into feeding him 3 times a day at 9 o’clock, 1 o’clock and 4 o’clock. At high tide he would jump out of the water on to the footpath. Since we’ve opened the restaurant...

  One day, as I was working on our recently-featured work, the Book of Kells-style circular mural by Breffni Carroll, I was approached by Christopher Dunne, the son of Kit Dunne, the local harbour pilot and boat owner. Christopher asked me if I could paint his father's two boats, the 'Lisin 1' and the 'Castle Maiden' to mark his 50th birthday. I readily agreed to Christopher's request. Kit runs the Wicklow Boathire Company for which he uses his boats for local coastal tours and fishermen expeditions. As the two vessels shared a similar design, I did not want to paint them in the same style of artwork that I had used previously. Also, while painting Breffni's mural, I had the idea to paint a trilogy of boats above this circular mural. And so, I decided to add a third boat, the AMS Panther which is based in Wicklow harbour. It is owned by the Alpha Marine Company and managed locally by Simon Greenwood. The 'Trilogy 1' mural marked a signicant developme...

  In time for Christmas, I have succeeded in deliveing a seasonal gift of my latest mural of the Irish Navy 'LÉ Aoibhinn' inshore patrol vessel, which paid a brief visit to Wicklow Port on the 27th September 2024.

  The 'Prasident Frieherr Von Maltzahn' is a ketch rigged fishing cutter built in 1928 in Cranz, Germany. She was similar in design to a modern-day small tall ship. She was built by the well-respected J.J. Siestas Shipyard which became well known in later years for building high-quality cargo ships and container ships until the yard closed around 2010. The fishing vessel was built for Herr Holst and Herr Fock, two fishermen who fished in the North Sea. In World War Two, she was commissioned by the German Navy as a minesweeper under her registered number NC274. After the war, she sailed again as a fishing cutter fishing for tunny, a species of tuna, in the North Sea. One of her owners died in 1961, following which she was given in 1963 to a yacht club in Wischafen to be refurbished as a sailing boat for pleasure. Alas, her condition there deteriorated severely despite some efforts to repair her. In 1983, the vessel was purchased by the Museum of Oevelgonne Port near Hamburg and ...

My final Trilogy mural on the East Pier, located above my 'Sammy the Seal' mural, was created between July 2022 and December 2023.  The Trilogy comprises: - the 'AMS Adventure' (centre of mural) painted in the summer of 2022; - the 'AMS Retriever' (right side of mural) painted in November 2023; - and the 'Mairi Maree' (left side of mural) painted in December 2023. Upon my retirement as a postman, and over this subsequent 18-month period following my painting of the first vessel, I retouched all of the existing murals on the pier after which I completed the second and third vessels of my Trilogy. The 'AMS Adventure' is a lightweight, high-speed craft built as one of a series in 2013 by Sea Trucks Workboats in Ipswich, United Kingdom. Reaching a speed of up to 27 knots, she facilitates crew transfers to/from offshore platforms and wind turbines. Her wheelhouse and crew seating area were constructed in modular form, thereby allowing them to be repos...

  The 'Ceol Mor', was a small cargo ship that was built in the style of the Dutch coasters popular in the 1950s and 60s. She was built in 1960 as the 'Lingeborg' in the Scheepswerfrt Friesland Shipyard in Lemmer, The Netherlands. Throughout her lifespan, she had several name changes. After the 'Lingeborg', she was named the 'Farel', and then from 1978 - 84 as the 'Ceol Mor'. After this, she was sold on as the 'Lady Lotmore' until 1996 when she became the 'Lady L'Belle'.  In 1999, she was arrested with her crew for drug smuggling at Puerto Cabello by the Venezualan marine authority, after which she was abandoned by her owners. She remained moored in Puert Cabello where her condition deteriorated greatly. She was last sighted there as a shipwreck in 2012. The Dutch coasters of this type were very rare by this time, and were out of fashion due to their small cargo capacity. They tended to be owned in the main by Dutch seafaring f...

  My decision to paint the Fastnet Lighthouse on the East Pier in August 2024 was greatly influenced by a strong Wicklow connection to the story of the construction of one of Ireland's most iconic lighthouses. James Kavanagh from Summerhill, Wicklow Town was the foreman and head stone mason in the building of the second Fastnet Lighthouse from August 1896 to June 1903, after the first lighthouse was destroyed by a combination of hurricane winds and floods over a decade earlier. A charismatic leader of men, James spent up to 10 months each year on the isolated and perilous Rock Island off Crookhaven, County Cork overseeing the 7-year building project in one of the most challenging and hazardous environments of the Atlantic Ocean.  He was also responsible for the safety of his workforce insisting that each worker in his team would wash himself and air his bed linen every day, and that the barracks was scrubbed daily in order to minimise sickness. There were no fatalities over th...

  The 'HMS Charger' is a Royal Navy in-shore patrol vessel, one of 14 similar Archer-class vessels. She was built in 1988 by Watercraft Limited in Shoreham-On-Sea and fitted out at Vosper Thornicroft in the United Kingdom. The vessels sailed as part of the Royal Navy Auxiliary Service. Their small size (a mere 20m long), versatility (equipped with two Rolls Royce turbo engines) and high speed (up to 20 knots) made it possible for them to visit numerous small ports around the British Isles. They were associated with various universities in Britain, providing opportunities for third-level students interested in a career in the Royal Navy Reserves with a sea-training experience. The 'HMS Charger' had an association with the Liverpool University Royal Navy Unit and her principal role was as a cadet training vessel for students there. She had an image of a liver bird on the side of her wheelhouse similar to the image on the famous Liver Building, showing her close connection...

  The 'RCC Faire' is a Revenue Commissioners Customs Cutter that carries out maritime patrols to prevent drug smuggling and the illegal importation of other illicit goods into Ireland. The 'Faire' (meaning 'Watch' in Irish) is one of two such boats patrolling Irish territorial waters, the other being the 'RCC Suirbheir (meaning 'Surveyor' in Irish). The 'Faire' is based in Dunlaoighre and covers the east and the north west coasts of the country, while the 'Suirbheir, is located in Kinsale and covers the south and west coasts. For certain operations, the two vessels can be used jointly. Both boats were built in Finland, the 'Suirbheir' in 2004, and the 'Faire' in 2009 when she was officially commissioned in Howth, Dublin in September of that year. Both Revenue vessels operate as part of a coordinated task force in which they are assisted by the Irish Naval Service and An Gardai Siochana.  One of the most noteworthy and high...

  My mural of the 'Erika Bojen' cargo ship was one of my earlier paintings on the East Pier, which I completed in the mid-1980s. She was built in 1978 by Jansen Schiffswerft Leer in Germany and was capable of carrying 1500 tons of cargo fully loaded. To those in the shipping industry or to shipspotters like myself, long low ships like this one were known as LADs or Low Air Draught ships. They were capable  of transiting European rivers for trading and could go under bridges, once they lowered their masts. The 'Erika Bojen' visited Wicklow Port on several occasions during the mid-1980s with cargoes of briquettes which, thanks to German technology, were an alternative smokeless fuel commonly used at the time instead of smokey coal. This type of cargo was regularly imported by the Wicklow Corn Company which was founded in 1920 and was located opposite the graveyard at Rathnew. It originally consisted of a number of companies trading in oil and alternative fuels. Later, it ...

  The 'Addison' is a small yacht owned by a local man called C.J. McHenry who lives just outside Wicklow Town. I came to know him from his walks along the East Pier when he would regularly rib me in his easy-going manner - "I don't see my boat on the wall yet, Pat!". Truth be told, few people had ever seen his boat, including his fellow members of the  Wicklow Sailing Club who believed it to be a phantom boat. In reality, however, CJ had been quietly working away with the help of a friend in repairing his yacht in the back garden of his house over a period of seven years. Finally, in 2023, she made her public appearance when she was lifted into Wicklow harbour as part of the annual Sailing Club lift-in.  CJ  and his beloved 'Addison' took part in the Sailing Club's races on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Alas, he was never particularly well-placed, as CJ readily admitted he was far from an experienced sailor. However, for one race when he in...

My mural of the Round Ireland Yacht Race was created in 2022, a few weeks before the biennial race organised by the Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) in June of that year. The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's premier offshore yacht race. The 704 nautical mile course is the second longest race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar. Micharl Jones of the WSC first put forward the idea of a non-stop race around the coast of Ireland, starting and finishing in Wicklow harbour. The inaugural race took place in 1980 with 16 pioneer boats, with Brian Coad’s 'Raasay of Melfort' returning home after six days at sea to win. The race still retains the original course: "leave Ireland and all its islands excluding Rockall to starboard". Since then, the fleet has grown steadily, attracting a record of 64 entrants from all over the world across various classes of sailing vessels. My circular mural is dedicated to the WSC as the home of the yacht race. Painted in the centre of the ...

The 'Sota Arritokieta' is a large cargo vessel built in 1981 in the Astilleros Balenciaga Shipyard in Zumala, Spain. Her owners were the Sota Line based in the Basque Region, Northern Spain. With a length of 90 meters, she has a deadweight tonnage of 4,500 tons. The vessel traded with the Sota Line until 1987, when she became the 'Mango' and was owned by the Wilson Line until 2009. Then she was renamed the 'Wakil Star' until 2012. Currently, she sails under the name 'Itidal', working in the Eastern Mediterranean. Owned by the Ism Group in Beirut, the Lebanon, she trades mainly between Turkiye and Beirut. Sota Line vessels regularly called to Wicklow Port from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. They imported chipboard and other building materials from Spain. The 'Sota Arritokieta' , as she was then, was the biggest ship of the Sota Line fleet, and probably one of the largest ships ever to visit Wicklow Port, although she was not as frequent a visito...