Death at Whitewater Church

by Andrea Carter

  Molloy gave a wry smile. “According to Bourke, Jesus is why she did it. Running the local chemist in a small town gave her a view on the shallow nature of the way people lived, after her time in Uganda. Big weddings, cosmetics, perfume, expensive jewelry, holidays. She thought society was becoming too unequal. Thought that she’d do a little redistribution of wealth, even things out. Must have seen herself as a latter-day Robin Hood. We arrested her last night while you were on your way to the church to do your own superhero bit.”

  After Molloy left, the nurse came in and gave me some painkillers. But I couldn’t get to sleep. I switched the light back on, reached across to the bedside locker, pulled out my bag, and found the book on Inishowen I had bought on my way to Dublin. I turned to the back, the chapter on the twentieth century, and leafed through it slowly. A word caught my eye. Sadie. I stopped, turned back the pages.

  IN 1985 A British cargo ship the Sadie was hijacked and blown up by the IRA. The IRA’s intention at this time was to disrupt the maritime traffic in and out of the port of Derry.

  A band of eight IRA volunteers came on board the Sadie via the pilot boat, which left from the tiny maritime community of Whitewater. They entered the pilot station and took the pilot hostage, with the intention of forcing him to take them to the cargo ship on board the pilot boat. Unfortunately the pilot attempted to escape and was shot. The IRA men nevertheless succeeded in boarding the ship from the pilot boat. They then informed the captain of their intentions and evacuated the crew of the tanker onto lifeboats, which were set adrift close to the shore. Charges were planted in the engine room and detonated. Two explosions occurred. The first set the ship on fire, the second caused the ship to sink, watched by the crew from the lifeboats. Tragically, two crew members remained on board the Sadie – it is assumed this was unbeknownst to the captain or the IRA cell. These two men, along with the pilot, lost their lives.

  Many others were affected by the tragedy. After the bombing of the Sadie, many shipping companies stopped using the port of Derry, resulting in serious job losses. This had a devastating effect on the area, causing poverty and emigration. In particular, the small community of Whitewater – where the three deceased men lived and the pilot station was situated – was all but destroyed.

  No arrests were ever made in connection with the bombing of the Sadie. The perpetrators all wore balaclavas and were never identified.

  I closed the book and felt it fall from my hands with a soft thud, as the painkillers finally began to take effect.

  Acknowledgements

  THE BOMBING OF the cargo ship the Sadie in this story was inspired by real events; two coal ships, the Nellie M and the St. Bedan, were sunk in the Foyle estuary in 1981 and 1982 respectively. The circumstances of the real bombings were very different to those in this book and no one was injured in the real attacks. But the bombers did board the ships via a pilot boat.

  You will find neither Whitewater nor Glendara on the map of Inishowen, but many of the other places mentioned in the story do exist. Inishowen is well worth a visit. It’s beautiful.

  I’d like to thank the Arts Council of Ireland for their generous financial support during the writing of this novel.

  Thank you to my agent, Kerry Glencorse of Susanna Lea Associates in London, and to Laura Mamelok of Susanna Lea Associates in New York. Thank you also to my new publishing family, Oceanview Publishing, who have welcomed me so warmly and pulled out all the stops to make this book as good as it can be and ready for a new American audience.

  Finally, thank you to my family and to Geoff.