Keynote speaker from Reliability Ireland 2019 seeks help with High Court action re Whiddy Island Disaster

Maritime lawyer Michael Kingston was just 4 years’ old when his father, Tim, was killed in the Whiddy Island disaster off the Cork Coast on 8 January 1979.

At our Reliability Ireland conference in Cork last March, when he recounted his personal story of relentless campaigning for better safety at sea and greater accountability, such was the impact that he received a standing ovation.

Michael recently contacted us to help him publicise … Read more below

Michael recently contacted us to help him publicise a GoFundMe campaign to support a High Court action being taken by the families and friends of those who died in the 1979 disaster.

The campaign has also been highlighted in The Irish Times.

Michael explains the action is being taken “due to the Irish State’s failure to address multiple safety failings which caused the death of 50 people; 42 French, seven Irish and one Englishman, on the 08th January 1979 in the worst industrial maritime disaster to occur in the Republic of Ireland’s history. 23 of the French victims were never found.”

He adds that this action “is hugely important to the rights of Irish workers in all industry today, and to European citizens, and the safety of the domestic and international maritime community.”

You can read more about the campaign at the GoFundMe page here.