Pomona (ship)  The "Pomona" was built by ship builders George and Thomas Boole of East Boston in September 1856. The ship was owned by Howland and Frothingham. She was named for the Roman goddess of fruit and fruit trees and she had a full figurehead of the goddess. The Pomona offered transport for emigrants and cargo from Liverpool to New York through the Tapscott's line. The ship's tonnage seems to have been inflated in advertisements from its 1181 tons burthen, perhaps to make it appear safer to prospective passengers. "Pomona" was captained by Captain Charles Merrihew for her whole service. She arrived in New York for the first time 29 September 1856. She cleared New York to Liverpool for her first voyage on 20 October 1856  and arrived 17 November 1856. Like many emigrant ships of the day, "Pomona" was considered a fast packet, clipper ship. She carried both passengers and cargo. For example, on her arrival in New York on 9 July 1857 she carried 482 passengers and merchandise with a journey time of 32 days. She carried 328 passengers and merchandise on her arrival in New York on 12 November 1857, but only 30 passengers on arrival 21 March 1857 after a journey with "light winds and pleasant weather". Samuel Walters, an English maritime artist painted the Pomona in 1858. The Pomona sailed from Liverpool on the 27 April 1859 at 5am with 448 souls on board. There was a crew of 44 men and boys, 7 cabin passengers and 393 intermediate passengers. Four were found to have been smuggled on board. Weather conditions were initially favourable and survivors talked of music and dancing on board. The wind became stronger through the evening. Around midnight, a light was seen that the Captain incorrectly thought was the Tuskar Rock light and he veered the ship N.N.E. This light was in fact the lightship at the north end of the Blackwater bank. It had been put in place only two years earlier as an additional warning for mariners (the lightship was replaced by a buoy in 1968). The Captain's navigation error caused the ship to sail directly towards the Irish coast. "Pomona" struck the Blackwater Bank, near the beaches of Ballyconigar, Blackwater, at 4am. The force was enough to bring passengers and crew onto the deck. She remained stuck fast in the strong winds. Attempts were made to launch the two lifeboats to allow the crew and passengers to reach land, but the boats were quickly swamped by the stormy sea.