Irish Lighthouses in World War II-- Part 2: Ballycotton Island Lighthouse

And, there were a large number of German vessels operating in the area.  In the first weeks of the war, a German U-boat sank the Cunard passenger liner SS Athenia two hundred miles off the west coast of Ireland.

The Athenia was carrying 1,103 passengers and was sunk by the U-30 on September 3, 1939.

Another U-boat sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous off the southwest coast.

--GreGen