Life in Ireland was desperate in the mid nineteenth century.  The Potato Famine of the 1840's brought about a decade of starvation and illness.  More than one million Irish died and another million fled their homeland, emigrating to North America  On the morning of October 22, 1851 the full masted ship British Queen, with 226 immigrants on board, departed Dublin, Ireland bound for New York.  The voyage was to take four to five weeks, but winter struck early that year and, eight weeks later, in a blinding snowstorm, the British Queen was driven into the dangerous Muskeget Channel west of Nantucket.  It was December 17th, 1851.  Source: Stackpole, Edouard: "Life Saving Nantucket," Stern-Majestic Press; 1972.  p. 102-110  Music and Narration: Performed, Produced and Edited by Evan Schwanfelder. Special Thanks to Katie Schwanfelder for all your help and for joining the discussion © Egan Maritime Institute, 2020

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