The Tayleur

The Tayleur was an iron-hulled clipper that sank in January 1854 on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia, driven off course by compass errors and wrecked against the cliffs of Lambay Island off the Dublin coast. The disaster, with heavy loss of life among emigrant passengers, was one of the worst shipping tragedies of its era before the Titanic and drew comparisons to it at the time. The wreck lies broken up on a rocky seabed near the island, scattered by more than a century and a half of exposure to tide and swell in the Irish Sea. It sits in a maximum depth of around 18 metres and is rated a beginner dive. As a protected wreck, divers have reported that a licence is required to visit the site, so it is worth confirming access arrangements before diving.