SS Coningbeg Formby Centenary Commemoration

December 2017 marks the centenary of the loss of the Waterford steamships SS Coningbeg and  SS Formby torpedoed on a journey from Liverpool to Waterford in December 1917. The SS Formby left Liverpool around midday on 15th December and the SS Coningbeg left at 2.30pm on the 17th December – neither were heard from again, falling victim to the torpedoes of U-62. 

The  torpedoing of the SS Formby and SS Coningbeg  in 1917 resulted in the loss of  67 people  from Waterford and surrounding areas and was the biggest seafaring tragedy to hit Waterford in the 20th Century.  A memorial  to those lost  was erected on the quayside  opposite Reginald’s Tower in 1997. The aim of the 2017 Centenary Commemoration is to highlight Waterford’s shipping history during World War I and  more importantly the lives and stories of those involved in the  tragedy.  

Friday December 15th 2017 Large Room, City Hall

19.30p.m. Opening of Commemoration  Programme by Cllr Pat Nugent, Mayor of Waterford City & County Council 

20.00-21.30p.m. Series of 3 talks on  WW1 & Naval Warfare, The  History of the Clyde Shipping Company and  The Loss of the SS Formby & SS Coningbeg 

with historian Julian Walton and author Richard McElwee

Saturday,  December 16th 2017

11.00 a.m.  Mayoral Reception, Waterford City & County Council , City Hall , The Mall,  Waterford City & County Council 

12.00 Noon Ecumenical Service at Christchurch Cathedral

13.00 p.m.  Laying of Wreath at Memorial to SS Formby & SS Coningbeg  at Adelphi Quay 

14.00 p.m. Reception in the Tower Hotel