The 'Ceol Mor'
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 families before being eventually sold on. They had been frequent visitors to Irish ports with small cargo loads.
As the 'Ceol Mor', she berthed in Wicklow port around 1980 with a small cargo of steel. She had a loading capacity of 500 tons. I decided to paint her as I was attracted by the unique style of these ships, and they were generally very well maintained. Also, she was similar to the ships that I saw when I first moved to Wicklow in 1965.
At the time of painting the mural, she was owned by a Scottish shipping company. She flew a British flag, but in a technical breach of maritime protocol, I decided to paint the ship with the Scottish national flag.
My decision to do so was in part influenced by the Troubles prevalent in the north of Ireland in the 1970s, fearing that to include the British flag in his mural might have increased the risk of it being vandalised!
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