Welcome to this blog – Holyhead: Stories of a Port. Please use the menu to navigate to each section and the sidebar to access individual posts.

Posts will appear as research is completed and stories prepared. Those who choose to follow this blog will receive automatic emails notifying of new posts. Please make contact with any comments, suggestions, corrections or contributions.

About this blog

The book ‘HOLYHEAD: The Story of a Port’ was first published in 1967 and updated in 1981. Many homes will have a copy. It tells the story of ‘a hardy little community’ that has survived for many centuries close to, and dependent upon, a sometimes very inhospitable Irish Sea.

This blog will be maintained by members and associates of the Holyhead Maritime Museum, who have an inexhaustible desire to make others aware of the town’s rich history – a past to which its maritime heritage is inextricably linked.

We will tell of people who have gone before. Some will be well known and their contribution to the town or their exploits elsewhere will be familiar to many. Others will be less well known but their stories will still need telling. Readers will hear of places, deeds, events and tragedies that have characterised our community. ‘The constant murmur of the sea’ will form a background to these stories.

Those who have a copy of the above book will see that we will draw upon it for guidance and sometimes content. We believe that these stories are now worth telling through an entirely different medium, to reach a much wider audience. We hope that you will enjoy reading our blog and choose to follow us on this journey through time.

This endeavor is dedicated to the memory of John Cave MBE, historian and one of Holyhead’s most dearly loved sons.

Our story of the loss of RMS Leinster in 1918 can be found here – https://rmsleinster100.com/

Editor – Barry Hillier, Holyhead Maritime Museum

All articles are the copyright of Holyhead Maritime Museum and should not be reproduced without prior permission of the Editor.