An American emigrant ship is wrecked on the Irish coast with almost 400 lives lost

The 1500 ton American ship Pomona sailed from Liverpool on April 27, 1859 for New York with a crew of 37 and a passenger list of 372 emigrants. At a little past midnight in deteriorating weather, the vessel hit the Blackwater Bank, a sand bank seven miles off the Irish coast near Ballyconigar and was stuck fast. Through the day the storm intensified and all attempts to launch boats failed. In the evening, the severely damaged ship slipped off the sand bank and sank. Twenty crewmen and three passengers survived when one boat at last pulled clear from the wreck but the remaining 386 lives were lost. (By John Osborne)