One of the most rewarding aspects of local historical research is uncovering stories that are little known and bringing them to a wider audience before they fade from memory. This is one of those stories. It tells the sad tale of the death of a young man, Moses Cull, who was a member of the coastguard in Ballymacoda in the 19th century, and the profound impact that his death had on his family.
Moses Cull was born in Kenton, Devon in the Southwest of England on July 5th, 1854. He was the son of John and Ann Cull. The 1871 England Census, taken in April of that year, captures the then 16-year-old Moses with the rank of ‘Boy 2nd Class’ serving aboard the HMS Impregnable. This was his initial rank since signing up for service on October 8th, 1870. According to his official naval record, he signed a ‘Continuous Service’ engagement with the Navy on his 18th birthday – July 5th, 1872 – committing to 10 years of adult service. The 1881 England Census again captures Moses, this time serving aboard HMS Invincible with the rank of ‘Able Seaman’.
His Navy record confirms that he initially served as a boatman in the coastguard in Youghal, from July 10th, 1882, to November 21st, 1882, when he was transferred to the ‘Knockadoon’ coastguard station, which as we know was located in the townland of Ring, but referred to as the Knockadoon station.
During the nineteenth century it was very common for Royal Navy sailors to transfer into the coastguard, as the service was placed under Admiralty control between 1856 and 1923 and relied heavily on naval manpower. Although the coastguard remained a distinct organisation, in practice it functioned as an extension of the Navy: experienced ratings were routinely posted to coastal stations, could be recalled to sea service when required, and continued to accrue naval pensionable time. For many long-serving sailors, coastguard duty offered a more stable and often more prestigious shore-based role, particularly attractive to married men with families. The naval record of Moses Cull seems to reflect this typical pattern of movement between shipboard service and coastguard appointments.
The timing of Moses’s move to the coastguard in Ballymacoda in November 1882 coincided with his marriage – he married Mary Ellen Stack (b. 1859) on October 19th at St. Finbarr’s Cathedral in Cork. And this may not be a coincidence – the marriage allowed Moses to move out of the coastguard lodgings in Youghal where single men lived, to the coastguard cottages in Ring that were reserved for married men and their families. One unusual aspect of the marriage for the time was that Moses was a Protestant and Mary was a Catholic, which may give weight to the hypothesis that the marriage was somewhat arranged, and beneficial to Moses as we have seen in moving to more expansive lodgings. Their first born child John George Cull was born in the coastguard cottages in Ring on August 22nd, 1883.
As we have seen when I have previously written of the coastguard in Ballymacoda, there was a coastguard presence in the area for nearly 100 years, and Moses was to continue to serve in the Ballymacoda unit up to his tragic death in early November 1884.
The details of the story of his death can be garnered from the numerous newspaper reports of the time, and the details of the inquest which was carried out a few days later on Saturday November 8th. At the inquest, the station officer at Ring, John McCarthy, testified that he and four of the coastguards had gone to Youghal by boat on Monday November 3rd. One newspaper report mentions that the purpose of their trip was to draw their monthly pay, for which they had to travel to Youghal. While they were there, a gale started up and they had no option but to leave the boat and make their way back to Ballymacoda over land. Having failed to procure a car, they decided to walk.
The inquest mentions that the men decided to ‘go by the ferry, at the mouth of the River Fanisk’. This location was essentially the crossing between Pilmore strand and what is known locally as ‘the spur’ at the tip of the strand in Ring. Crossing here would have significantly shortened the journey and would have allowed the men to then walk the beach home to the coastguard station in Ring.
Locally, I have often heard over the years of this being commonly used as a crossing to shorten the journey from Youghal to Ballymacoda, but local knowledge was essential to successful navigation, and the crossing had to be completed in the correct place with the tides just right.
McCarthy, the station officer, testified that the men, a little fatigued from the journey, sat down to rest, and Moses Cull decided to proceed onward. He was soon followed by the other men, now rested. When they got to the crossing, they searched for him in the dark of the night and called his name, but he was nowhere to be found. On reaching the coastguard station in Ring and having discovered he had not made his way home, they conducted further searches. However, no trace of Moses was found until the next morning, when his body was located on the beach at Ring. The other coastguard men believed that he lost his way in the dark of the night, and ‘getting into deep water, was drowned’. This was confirmed through examination of the body by the Admiralty Surgeon, Dr JJ Curran, who testified at the inquest that he found that death was caused by drowning.
The jury at the inquest returned a verdict in accordance with this medical testimony, and confirmed that no blame was to be attached to anyone. The remains of Moses Cull were buried in the Protestant section of Kilcredan graveyard. His epitaph reads:
“Erected by his affectionate Wife in memory of Moses Cull H.M. Coastguard Service who died Nov 4 1884 aged 29 years”.
Note: While the epitaph mentions Moses was 29 years old at the time of his death, he was most likely 30 years old. His official Royal Navy service record lists his date of birth as July 5th, 1854, making him 30 at the time of his death in November 1884.
After the death of Moses, it must have been extremely difficult for his young wife. Mary was also pregnant with their second child, a girl, at the time of his tragic death. It is not known exactly when, whether it was directly afterwards or later, but Mary was to end up in the Home for the Protestant Incurables. The Home for the Protestant Incurables, located on Military Hill in Cork city, was one of several charitable institutions established in the nineteenth century to provide long-term care for those suffering from chronic illness, disability, or conditions deemed ‘incurable’ at the time. Supported largely by donations and church fundraising, the home offered accommodation, medical supervision, and basic comforts to Protestant men and women who were unable to support themselves and who fell outside the limited social welfare structures of the period. Although the term ‘incurable’ reflects the medical understanding of the era rather than the reality of many resident’s conditions, admission to such an institution often meant permanent separation from family and community. For individuals like Mary Cull, who entered the home following her husband’s death, it was both a refuge and a symbol of the profound social and economic vulnerability faced by widows in Victorian Ireland.
Mary was pregnant with her second child when Moses died, and the child was born in the home on July 2nd, 1885. This provides evidence that Mary must have entered the home between early November after Moses died and July the following year when the child, Mary Frances Sarah Cull was born.
John, the first-born child of Moses & Mary had been taken in by the Moore family of Ring, Ballymacoda. They also took in Mary Frances Sarah Cull after she was born. The Moore’s were a Protestant farming family, and evidence of Mary being in their care is provided in the 1901 Census of Ireland, where she is described as a ‘ward’.
Apparently, according to family lore, the children were told that their mother had died of a ‘broken heart’. She remained in the Home for the Protestant Incurables until she died there in 1893. Despite numerous research efforts, I have not yet been able to determine where Mary was laid to rest.
There is no trace of John Cull in the 1901 Census of Ireland – he followed in this father’s footsteps and joined the Royal Navy. Like his father, he served as a ‘boy’ initially from the time he joined up in 1898. He later saw action in WWI including at the Battle of Jutland aboard the HMS Phaeton. He retired from the Navy in 1922, by which time he had attained the rank of Lieutenant.
The 1911 England Census shows Mary Frances Sarah Cull living in the town of Gillingham in Kent. It records her occupation as ‘house duties’ and that she is single. She is recorded on the census document with one other woman present in the household – Flora Sybil Elizabeth William. She would later marry John George Cull and become Mary’s sister-in-law. Mary died in Gillingham on December 22nd, 1957. She never married and her effects were left to her brother John according to the probate record.
The story of Moses Cull, and of the family who survived him, is one of those quiet human tragedies that rarely make the history books yet shaped the lives of ordinary people in profound ways. His journey from Devon to Ballymacoda, from naval service to the coastguard, and ultimately to his untimely death on a dark November night attempting to make his way home, left a deep imprint not only on his young wife and children but on the community that bore witness to it. By piecing together these scattered records and memories, we can ensure that Moses, Mary, and their children are not lost to time. Their story, though marked by hardship and sorrow, forms an important thread in the wider tapestry of our local history.
References & Further Information
I am indebted to Peter Rolfe, who brought this story to my attention. Peter’s wife is the great-great-granddaughter of Moses Cull. Credit to Peter also for the picture of Moses Cull.
Devon Heritage, Devon-born crew members of HMS Invincible 1881, Devon Heritage, Available Online, (Accessed December 7th, 2025)
UK, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872 – Record for Moses Cull
1871 England Census
1881 England Census
Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939 – Records for Moses Cull and John George Cull
United Kingdom, Battle of Jutland Crew Lists, 1916 – Record for George Cull
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 – Record for Mary Frances Sarah Cull
Obituary for Flora Sybil Elizabeth Cull, Published in The Daily Telegraph, London, Greater London, England, Thursday, March 5th, 1970
1901 Census of Ireland
1911 England Census
