Episode Details

A forgotten maritime hero: the “rocket car,” a gunpowder-fueled rescue machine that saved lives along Ireland’s shores for over a century. Invented by Captain George William Manby after a harrowing shipwreck, these rugged vehicles fired ropes to stranded sailors via breeches buoy—often braving storms and waves. Volunteers like Ted O’Driscoll kept the tradition alive, even helping deliver ballots in 1954 when ferries failed. By the 1980s, tech advances made them obsolete, and most were scrapped—but a few, like the one in Baltimore, are lovingly preserved by locals as living monuments to ingenuity, bravery, and community spirit.

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