'The Riddle of the Sands': The log of the Asgard

31 May 2013

The log of the Asgard, a gun-running voyage carrying arms later used in 1916 Easter Rising

Some of our readers may be familiar with Robert Erskine Childers the novelist, who wrote ‘The Riddle of the Sands’. However not everyone may be familiar with Erskine Childers the Irish nationalist, and being Irish myself I found the archive item which I have chosen for the “Item of the Month” particularly interesting.

RCC/7 is the log of a gun-running voyage that Childers undertook in his yacht Asgard on behalf of the Irish Volunteers in 1914 to obtain arms for a planned military rebellion against British rule in Ireland. 

Erskine Childers had long held a love of Ireland, spending four years of his childhood (aged six to ten) and numerous summers and holidays in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow with family from his mother’s side, however, it was not until 1908 that his political views took a turn from Unionist to Nationalist following a motor tour of Ireland, writing to his friend Basil Williams that “I have come back finally and immutably a convert to Home Rule”. 

The years that followed saw him become more politically involved, spending time in Ireland researching and writing a book on Home Rule published at the end of 1911, and later becoming a liberal candidate for Devonport. He travelled back and forth to Dublin, Belfast and London, meeting with Nationalists, Unionists and other political activists over the next few years. Following the rejection of yet another Home Rule bill, and increasing tensions between Unionist Ulster and the rest of the country, a committee was formed in early 1914 to raise funds and buy arms for the Irish volunteers. 

They sailed from the Welsh coast on the 1st of July 1914 in Childers’ yacht Asgard, stopping at Cowes on the Isle of White along the way to take on provisions, meet another crew member and make final arrangements for the rendezvous at the Ruytigen Bank lightship near the Scheldt estuary in the North Sea. Here they met another vessel and took on 900 Mauser rifles and 29,000 rounds of ammunition before a stormy journey back to Howth via Wales.

The log is an interesting and personal account written by one of the crew members, Mary Spring Rice, daughter of Lord Monteagle of Foynes and a fellow Anglo-Irish liberal. It is rather akin to a diary more than an official log – reading like a naïve adventure story of the Famous Five or Secret Seven, as opposed to an illegal gun-running voyage. It is hard to imagine that the small motley crew described in the log really understood the impact that this particular voyage would have on Irish history. At the time it was intended only to be a symbolic response to the arming of the unionist Ulster Volunteers, and in fact while trying to persuade others to help the cause, it is said “he promised us there was no intention of using them other than as a gesture of equality”.

However, the 1916 Easter Rising would not have been possible without the arms that Childers landed in Howth. Following this voyage, several further attempts to smuggle guns into the country all failed, meaning the rebels were very poorly equipped. The Rising lasted only six days, and following the suppression of the fighting, fourteen men were executed as leaders of the rebellion (though two were only marginally involved) and thousands of nationalist activists were imprisoned.

While the Easter Rising was essentially a failure in a military sense, and initially public support for the rebels was low, the actions of the British government in the weeks and months that followed turned the tides of political support in Ireland towards the Republican cause, though several years more turmoil and a divisive and bloody civil war would follow before Ireland would fully gain its independence.

The yacht that they sailed on, a present from Childers’ father-in-law, was purchased by the Irish government in 1961 and has been restored after years of use as a training ship. Asgard is now on permanent display in the National Museum of Ireland for its part in shaping Irish history.

This log and a number of Childers’ other logs (including that of the Vixen on which parts of ‘The Riddle of the Sands’ are based) are available to view in the Caird Library, on loan to the National Maritime Museum from the Royal Cruising Club collection. These items can be found in our archive catalogue under the reference RCC. The Vixen’s log is RCC/2.

The Caird Library also has a number of interesting books on Erskine Childers in the library collection, which offer more details on his life, his voyages and his involvement with Irish politics, all under the call number 92Childers.

• A thirst for the sea: the sailing adventures of Erskine Childers,  Popham, Hugh [Library ID: PBN3430]
• Dangerous waters: the life and death of Erskine Childers Piper, Leonard [Library ID: PBF2974]
• Erskine Childers Ring, Jim [Library ID: PBP6854]

 Jean, Library Assistant

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