Wreckage is reported to lie in 10-12m of water, along the outer side of the breakwater 330m from the lighthouse, close the wreck of the OSSEO (see NPRN 272227). The full character and extent of archaeological remains is presently unknown.

Event and Historical Information:
The KIRKMICHAEL was a steel-hulled barque built by W Doxford & Sons, Sunderland, in 1882 . Technical and configuration specifications are given as 202ft length x 33ft 1in breadth x 20ft 1in depth; 1 deck, 1 bulkhead. At time of loss 22 December 1894, the vessel was owned by A J Steel & Son, Liverpool, and was on passage from Glasgow and Liverpool to Melbourne under the command of master T Jones. Having lost most of her canvass, the barque was attempting to make a run for the harbour under bare poles. The barque was driven against the outer wall of the breakwater. The Holyhead lifeboat was launched at 10.30am, but the lifeboat was swamped. Six of the lifeboat's oars were washed away forcing it to return. The rocket lifesaving crew mean crawled along the breakwater and managed to get a line onto the stern of the barque by which 11 men were taken off. The 1st and 2nd mate had taken to the rigging, one fell to his death and the other died of exposure. The ship's steward remained onboard to be taken off in the morning when the weather had abated.

Sources include:

Bennett, T, 1987, Shipwrecks around Wales, Vol 1, pp.57-8
Y Brython Cymreig, 28 December 1894, p.1
BSAC Wreck Register Supplement Vol 7-1, 44 (287)
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 October - 31 December 1894, p.12 (h)
South Wales Daily News, 31 December 1894, p.5
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk).

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, August 2008.

This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.