A chara, – I wish to register a formal protest at the removal of the Irish counties of Down, Antrim and Derry from the newly launched national digital map of shipwrecks.
The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, recently announced the launch of the website as “of value to everyone with an interest in Ireland’s maritime history”.
The Wreck Viewer allows access to a database of shipwreck sites “both off the Irish coast and in our inland waterways.” It claims: “These wrecks span the entirety of maritime travel around and within the island.”
Unfortunately the website map excludes the north east of the country, a significant number of shipwrecks and an even more significant portion of the Irish coastline it is claiming to cover.
It is somewhat paradoxical that the departments website claims that one of its key goals is “to promote North South co-operation.”
I would kindly ask the Minister to ensure that the documentation is extended to include the remaining three counties.
The current website map not only degrades the memory of the many people who died on these wrecks but discredits what would otherwise have been an excellent, national, educational project. – Is mise,
EDDIE WHYTE,
Sandefjord, Norway.