Boatman for Mountbatten

On the 27th of August 1979, just off the coast of Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo, a bomb was detonated on board a small cabin cruiser named Shadow V. Four people died in that explosion. Lord Louis Mountbatten(79), Dowager Lady Brabourne (83), Nicholas Knatchbull(14), and the young boatman Paul Maxwell(15). The shockwaves from that bomb reverberated around the world. Much has been written about the events of that fateful day and the bombing has been the subject of numerous television and radio documentaries. But what was life like before the bomb? This book recounts the memories of those men employed as boatmen on Shadow V over the years. It also draws on newspaper articles and the diaries of Mountbatten himself that have recently been released to the public by the University of Southampton. The book traces the family connections to Classiebawn Castle, Mountbatten’s Irish home in Mullaghmore. It examines the diary entries of Lord Mountbatten covering his visits to Classiebawn over the years since his first visit in 1941. It also looks at the history of Mullaghmore, Classiebawn, Mountbatten himself, and Shadow V. We look at the boat's construction in McCann’s Boatyard at Milk Harbour, Co Sligo to its destruction by the bomb in 1979. Just what was life like before that terrible August morning. This book aims to open a window on those days when innocence was ours and the thought that such a terrible crime could be carried out in a place of such natural beauty never crossed our minds. This book is dedicated to the memory of Paul Maxwell, who was, sadly, the last “Boatman for Mountbatten".