The paddle steamer Queen Victoria was built in Liverpool by Wilson, and completed in 1838. Records indicate it was 337 tons and had 250hp side engines provided by Fawcett and Preston, also of Liverpool. Owned by the Dublin Steam Packet Company, and registered in Dublin, it would have been a regular sight on the Dublin to Liverpool passage. The paddle steamer ran for a good few years before being wrecked at Howth Head on February 15th 1853, near Bailey Lighthouse. Captain Church, with a crew of 24 and 87 passengers, went down with the ship. At least 59 lives were lost, although some reports estimated 83. Blame was attributed to the foggy weather, the captain, and the lack of a fog alarm in the lighthouse.
