Documentary on One: Fire in the Sky

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Book of witnesses photo credit, Michael Lawless Image Name: Book of witnesses photo credit, Michael Lawless
Brian McGee, survivior of Whiddy Disaster Image Name: Brian McGee, survivior of Whiddy Disaster
Whiddy Oil Terminal Image Name: Whiddy Oil Terminal
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Betelgeuse picture credit Ian Vickery SNR, photo credit Ian Vickery JNR Image Name: Betelgeuse picture credit Ian Vickery SNR, photo credit Ian Vickery JNR
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Broadcast Details: Saturday 2nd October, 2.00pm

In 1979, a tragic maritime disaster occurred on Whiddy Island just off the coast of Bantry, beginning with a fire onboard the Betelgeuse vessel. 50 people lost their lives on that night. One of them was Tim Kingston. Many of those who have suffered are for the first time speaking out.

Available for podcast – Thursday 30th September (www.rte.ie/doconone)

First broadcast RTÉ Radio 1 – Saturday 02nd of October, 2021 at 2PM

Repeated RTÉ Radio 1 – Sunday 03rd of October, 2021 at 6PM

In 1979, a tragic maritime disaster occurred on Whiddy Island just off the coast of Bantry, a town in West Cork in the Southern part of Ireland.   

Situated between peninsulas in Bantry Bay, Whiddy Island is known as one of the world’s finest deepwater harbours. It also has a naval history, its location giving it a unique strategical position which was used in World War One. 

This prime location enticed Gulf Oil to build an oil silo facility on the island. It was an investment which brought millions of pounds and hundreds of jobs to the area. Huge international oil tankers would dock at Whiddy to offload their crude oil.  

On 4th January 1979, the vessel M.V “Betelguese” arrived in Bantry Bay, she was a large tanker and was carrying a cargo of 115,000 metric tonnes of Arabian heavy crude oil. She was not meant to travel to Cork, the weather was so poor at Sines, south of Lisbon, she couldn’t dock there and was diverted. 

On Saturday the 6th of January, men from across Cork said goodbye to their families leaving for the terminal. One man on duty was Tim Kingston, the pollution officer for Whiddy, a father of three young children and a devoted husband to his wife Mary Kingston. He started his shift at 8pm with the other men who worked to extract the oil from the ship. 

On the Island, was a crew of men tasked with pumping the oil to the enormous baths across the Island. Each one, holding thousands of litres.

In the early hours of Sunday 8th of January, a fire begins onboard the Betelgeuse. The dispatcher in the control tower on the island watches on but did not see the start of the fire. He did not alert the emergency services until crucial time had passed.  

On board the vessel was a crew of French workers and on the jetty a team of Irish were supervising the ship. Tragically the jetty, was cut off from the island as a bridge had been removed to make space for a second vessel to offload its cargo. As the fire raged there was no escape. 50 people lost their lives on that night. One of them was Tim Kingston.

To this day major questions remain about the arrangements in place for the safety of the workers. Many of those who have suffered are for the first time speaking out in the Documentary On One: Fire in the Sky.

Narrated by Tim Desmond

Produced by Donal O’Herlihy and Michael Lawless