Birkenhead survivors
Charles Daly
CHARLES DALY was born at Gort County Galway on March 17th
(St Patrick`s Day) 1832. He left Ireland whilst still a young man and in 1849 landed
at Durban South Africa. After a year or two, having accumulated some savings, he
decided to return home but got no further than St Helena where he had to abandon
his journey suffering with a bout of fever. After recovering from the
fever he joined the Birkenhead as a civilian passenger when
she called at St Helena on her way south. His intention was to travel on
her as far as the Buffalo River.
After surviving the disaster he settled in South Africa and became a wealthy and
much admired man, establishing a large store in Bloemhof with a lucrative
business supplying arms and food to the Transvaal forces. Afterwards he
went into farming also with much success.
On the 50th anniversary of the wreck The Bechuanaland News said of him `He was a good father generous to a fault a staunch Home Ruler and a through Irishman to the last, a keen sportsman, well educated , an aristocrat to the tips of his fingers, a man of many friends of whom it may be said "He had many friends and no enemies" for the last thirty five years of his life he was a total abstainer from alcohol liquor and tobacco`.
Sadly in April 1903 Charles Daly was killed by the kick of an ox to his head whilst on his way to Vryburg from his veldt home at Mosita in Bechuanaland