Sir William Goff Davis-Goff Yachtsman

At the close of the nineteenth century and into the early years of the twentieth, few names carried more weight in Waterford than that of Sir William Goff Davis-Goff. An imposing presence in the city’s economic, social, and sporting life, he was also the outspoken figurehead of local loyalists and a staunch opponent of Home Rule.

Julian Walton once described him as “baronet, politician, sportsman, and benefactor to the city”—one of the best-known Waterford men of his era. [1] Yet among his many pursuits, one passion stood quietly in the background: yachting. Though he loved the sport, it was often overshadowed by the breadth of his business, civic, and other athletic commitments.

The original family seat of the family had been at Horetown, near Foulksmills in Co Wexford. William’s father was Strangman Davis who added the additional surname of Goff in 1845, under the terms of his uncle's will. William was born in Cathedral Square in Waterford on September 12th, 1838.  Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he took his MA Degree and was a crack oarsman amongst his Varsity contemporaries. As the Waterford News, stated in his obituary “in his collegiate days, he showed much of the worth that in later years was to earn him honour and distinction and an almost bewildering variety of activities and pursuits claimed his assiduous attention in subsequent years.”

[1] ‘On This Day, Volume Two’ by Julian Walton, ‘Sir William Goff and his Family’, Page 214.

In his youth, William served as a Captain in the 2nd Dragoon Guards before returning to civilian life in Waterford. There, he married Anne Hassard, daughter of Michael Dobbyn Hassard, a prominent Conservative MP for Waterford from 1857 to 1865. Through this marriage, the Davis-Goffs acquired Glenville House, situated off Maypark Lane, which would become the family’s home for generations.

His public service record was extensive. In 1905 he was created a baronet. He served as Sheriff of Waterford in 1869 and again in 1899, High Sheriff of County Waterford in 1892, and as an Alderman of Waterford Corporation for many years. He was also Deputy Lieutenant for County Waterford.

Sir William and Lady Anne had two sons. Herbert William, born in 1870, succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet and served as High Sheriff of County Waterford in 1914 before his death in 1923. William Ernest, born in 1872, became a Captain in the 3rd Dragoon Guards but was killed in action during the Boer War at Vryheid, South Africa, on 20 May 1900.

Beyond his formal duties, Sir William had a deep enthusiasm for cycling. In 1891, at his own expense, he built a cycle track at People’s Park, Waterford, and gifted it to the Waterford Cycle Club. For years, it was regarded as the finest track in the British Isles, attracting the top riders of the day to compete in Ireland.

Tragedy struck in 1892 with the sudden death of thirty-three-year-old Richard Hassard, brother of Sir William’s wife, Anne.

He had fallen ill while sailing in heavy seas aboard his yacht Fiery Cross, returning from England. Soon afterwards, he contracted typhoid fever and died on 4 November 1892. Hassard was remembered as one of the finest all-round athletes of his generation. In rowing, he had been a central figure for years; as a cyclist, he swept all before him, winning the principal Irish championships in 1876, 1877, 1879, and 1881, and earning the distinction of being the first Irish cyclist to compete in England.[2] 

Waterford historian Joe Falvey believes that Hassard’s remarkable sporting success helped inspire Sir William’s own generosity and commitment as a patron of the new sport of cycling.

[2]  Waterford News, November 12th, 1892.

Sir William himself was chairman of the Dunlop Cycle and Tyre Company for many years and maintained a long, honourable association with Waterford’s industrial life. His business interests included proprietorship of the brewery of Messrs Davis, Strangman & Company, chairmanship of the Waterford Steamship Company, and a shareholding in the Waterford and Tramore Railway Company. He also served as a Waterford Harbour Commissioner, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and was a considerable landowner in the region.

As history records, Sir William was among the pioneers of motoring in Ireland. In 1900, in partnership with William Peare, he opened what is believed to have been the country’s first purpose-built motor garage, on Catherine Street, Waterford. In 1903, his Napier motor car proudly bore Waterford’s first vehicle registration: WI 1.[3]

Yet before he became associated with motoring, Sir William’s great sporting love was yachting—a part of his life now somewhat overshadowed by his other achievements. He excelled in both sailing and steam yachts, earning a reputation in prestigious racing circles.

He was a member of the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), a club whose roots went back to 1838 when a group of boating enthusiasts relocated from the River Liffey to the new harbour at Kingstown. The Marquis Conyngham, one of its founding members, used his influence with Queen Victoria to secure the privileges of a Royal Yacht Club in 1845.

[3] Waterford City- A History’ by Cian Manning. Page 153   / https://www.waterfordcivictrust.ie/w-pheare

The clubhouse was designed by architect John Skipton Mulvany, [4] renowned for his work on a number of the great houses commissioned by the entrepreneurial Malcomson family of Waterford, including Villa Marina at Dunmore East. The club’s membership roll read like a who’s who of the Irish brewing and distilling world—Guinness, Jameson, Roe—raising the question of whether Sir William’s own brewery connections encouraged his membership.

In 1893, William Jameson, of the famous distilling family, was invited by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), to serve as sailing master aboard his new yacht Britannia. That first season, Jameson steered her to 33 victories out of 43 starts—a standard of excellence that reflected the calibre of sailors with whom Sir William shared his yachting world.

The earliest record of a yacht belonging to Sir William dates to the cutter Neptune. Built in 1875 at Fairlie, on the North Ayrshire coast at the Firth of Clyde, she came from a place synonymous with some of the most beautiful and accomplished vessels ever produced at the William Fife & Son boatyard.

[4] ‘The Royal St George Yacht Club, a History’ by Stella Archer and Peter Pearson, 1987.

Lloyd’s Register of Yachts, which were published annually from 1878 until 1980, except during the two World Wars, are an incredible resource for tracking information on yachts, much of which can be most interesting and fascinating. The earliest edition was in 1878 and in it we find that Neptune is owned by NB Stewart and is registered at Greenock, a port on the Firth of Clyde, twenty-five miles west of Glasgow. The yacht is 64ft 8in in length and is 50 tons, (TM).[5] She has a Yawl rig.

In 1879, the yacht is recorded as having her name changed to Zampa. Her owner is now Adolphe Demay and the port of registry is Bordeaux, in France.  The 1882 Lloyd’s Register of Yachts records the yacht as having been renamed Neptune and registered in Gosport, which is near Portsmouth in Hampshire. No owner was recorded. In 1883, William Lloyd is recorded as the owner and the port of registry is Portsmouth.

In 1884, William Goff Davis-Goff is recorded as the owner and the port of registry remained as Portsmouth.  The name ‘Neptune’ would have resonated with the new owner as it is one, very much associated with Waterford, being the name of the shipyard, established by the Malcomsons in 1843 and the name of the very first vessel launched from the shipyard in 1846, the 172 ft, screw steam ship Neptune.

[5] TM stands for ‘Thames Measurement’, a system for measuring ships and boats.

An interesting extract from The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes – Yachting, Volume ΙΙ, referring to the 1885 yachting season, has this to say:

On July 25, the first club match round the Isle of Wight too place. It was open to all yachts of 9 tons and upwards in the B and C classes. Two of Fairlie’s old clippers came out in new feathers for this race, the ‘Neptune’ and ‘Fiona’; and the former not only in this, but in many another trash round a course during this and following seasons, kept well in the van, and showed that age had in no way been detrimental to her speed.

Her prowess was also celebrated closer to home. The Waterford News, 6 August 1886, reported:

YACHTING

On Monday Mr WGD Goff’s yacht, “Neptune,” carried off at Dover Regatta the splendid cup value £105 presented by Queen Victoria from a most formidable opposition. The second prize was secured by the crack yacht of the day, the “Irex,” also owned by an Irishman, Mr Jameson of Dublin.

Just a few weeks later, Mr Goff and Neptune returned to Waterford Harbour and his yacht was conspicuous at a very successful and well attended Dunmore East Regatta, held on Monday, August 29th.  The Waterford Standard of September 1st, 1886, reported: 

The yachting element was well represented. Mr Goff’s famous cutter Neptune lay gaily decked with bunting about a hundred yards from the pier head and was the centre of attraction among the many pretty pleasure yachts that honoured the regatta, by their presence.

In August 1894, a report appeared in the Munster Express, extoling the generous support that Mr WGD Goff had given to the cycling community in Waterford and a reference to the Neptune was included. The following is a short extract from the much longer report:

“His generosity is not limited in its scope to cycling but is evidenced by handsome donations to such funds as are raided from time to time for charitable objects, without any distinction of creed or class. Neither are his amusements altogether confined to bicycling, as he owned the famous yacht ‘Neptune,’ which he steered to victory in nearly every race entered for in 1887. Latterly he has gone in for steam, and at present is cruising in Scotch waters in a magnificent vessel, the ‘Sylvia’ in which he brought eight cyclists, ladies, and gentlemen, round West Cork and Kerry in the summer. Mrs Goff shares in her husband’s deep interest in the welfare of the Waterford Bicycle Club and in all his other undertakings for the benefit of his fellow-citizens, and she is always ready to work hard for the success of any charitable undertaking, irrespective of creed.”

In 1889, Neptune is recorded in the ownership of Mr Thomas W Birchall of London, with the yacht still registered in Portsmouth. Over a fifty-year period, a number of different owners are recorded in Lloyd’s Register of Yachts.  In 1902, the yacht has been re-named Miriam and is owned by Georges Pilon and is registered in St Malo, France. In 1908, the yacht has been restored to its former name, registered in Southampton, and is owned by ACB Casson. In 1936, the owner is recorded as Mrs Dora Ruth Tapply. The yacht is now rigged as a ketch. The final entry for Neptune that can be viewed is from 1939 and the owner is recorded as WR Northcott. That is fifty-years after being sold by WGD Goff and sixty-four after being launched at Fairlie. When Lloyd’s Register of Yachts resumed publication after World War ΙΙ, no record of the yacht could be found.  

For a short number of years, from 1885, WGD Goff was also the owner of a small 6-ton steam launch, named Pixie. The Pixie was built in 1881 at Birkenhead by a company called W Dickinson & Sons. St Clare John Byrne, who designed the famous 1882 Waterford-built steam yacht Maritana, was the designer.  He was a naval architect, who specialised in the design of luxury yachts during the late Victorian and early Edwardian period. In 1888, the Pixie is recorded as being owned by Gerald Fitzgerald of Waterford Castle, which is located on Little Island, close to Waterford city, so the launch would have been used to ferry the family to and from the Island. The Fitzgerald family of Waterford Castle would have been close neighbours to Glenville House.

As the Munster Express reported in 1894 that “latterly he has gone in for steam.”   However, WGD Goff’s first foray into steam yachts was a brief one.  For the 1894 yachting season, he was owner of the steam yacht Sylvia. The Sylvia was 143ft in length and 136 grt. It was built by the company of Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd., Linthouse, Govan on the Clyde at Glasgow and launched on June 22nd, 1882.[6]  This was a large shipbuilding firm and the steam yacht had been built for the proprietor, Alexander Stephen.

In a brief history of Alexander Stephen and his firm, the following information may be read:

The following year he built at Linthouse the Sylvia of 136 tons, which gave himself and family so much enjoyment that he decided to construct a larger vessel. He therefore sold Sylvia in 1884, and constructed, in 1885, the Nerissa, a very able and successful vessel of 264 tons, yacht measurement, which proved a great advance on her predecessor.[7] 

The Sylvia changed ownership on several occasions over the next number of years. When it came into the possession of WGD Goff, it had been owned by Mr D McCorkindale and registered in Weymouth, in Dorset. Maybe, WGD Goff was like the original owner, getting so much enjoyment from a steam yacht, that he wished to purchase a bigger and better one, after just one season?

That larger steam yacht was called Greta, which was designed, built, and owned at Greenock on the River Clyde, by John Scott. This firm of shipbuilders built over 1,250 ships in its time.

The Freemans Journal of November 17th, 1894 reported on the departure of the old vessel, bought by Mr Edward M Brown of New York, and the purchase of the new one by WGD Goff:

DEPARTURE OF THE STEAM YACHT  SYLVIA FOR NEW YORK

The beautiful steam yacht Sylvia, 195 Thames measurement, has left Kingstown Harbour for New York direct, having been sold by Mr WGD Goff, R St GYC, and of Glenville, Waterford, to Mr EM Brown, New York Yacht Club, and recently owner of the American yacts Nirvana and Shearwater. The Sylvia coaled and took in water at Kingstown, as well as provisions, for the passage to New York, and is in charge of Capt Davis and a Yankee crew of 14 men, which recently came over for her. George Saunders, her late skipper, also goes across in her. She will take the Southern course, via the Canaries, Azores, and Bermuda, and coal will be shipped at these stations. The voyage, which will be under steam pressure (10 knots) is expected to last from 23 to 30 days. Mr Goff has purchased from the builder, Mr John Scott, CB, FRS, the head of the well-known shipbuilding firm at Glasgow, the splendid new steam yacht Greta, 238 tons, TM, one of the best built vessels of her size afloat, and fitted up with electric light, and every modern appliance. George Saunders, who holds a certificate for commanding steam vessels, will return to the Clyde by March, and superintend the fitting out of the Greta, which will then proceed to Kingstown.

There was a dramatic twist to voyage of the Sylvia to New York.  The crew described above, abandoned the yacht in Queenstown (Now Cobh), having been forced to shelter first of all in Waterford and then in Queenstown. The Cork Examiner of February 6th, 1895 gave a full account of the dramatic events that took place. The Sylvia finally departed from Queenstown on December 20th and arrived safely in New York in early February. She was commanded by a Captain Arthur H Clark, who had been in England, with his wife and she accompanied her husband on the transatlantic trip.

The Waterford News of May 18th, 1895 reported on the happy arrival of the steam yacht to Waterford :

At the invitation of Mr Goff and accompanied by Major Hobson, Mr H Roberts, Mr C Mercer, and Mr HG Craig, we had yesterday a look over the splendid steam yacht Ivor, anchored at the North side, just opposite the Post Office. Before Mr Goff purchased the yacht at Greenock, she was named the Greta. A re-christening took place since and she is now known as Ivor, - called after one of the Danish Kings who, history assures us, reigned in Waterford sometime in the eight century. The vessel is 143 feet long; 18.6 in beam, and 10.3 in depth; her registered tonnage is 80, the tonnage according to Thames measurement being 230. Almost every modern improvement that money could purchase is to be seen on board, the present owner having made up his mind to spare no expense in fitting her out. When Mr Goff puts his hand in his pocket all know what that means, so it is unecessary  for us to enter minutely into details of the splendid accomodation on board. She is commanded by Captain Saunders and carries a crew of 14 hands all told. We believe it is Mr Goff’s intention to start tomorrow for Kingstown and that he contemplates visiting Douglas and the coast of Scotland, before returning home. Right heartily we wish him bon voyage.

[6] http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?a1PageSize=100&builder=495&a1Order=Sorter_types&a1Dir=DESC&ref=23694&vessel=SYLVIA

[7] https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/A_Shipbuilding_History._1750-1932_(Alexander_Stephen_and_Sons):_Chapter_10

But tragedy would strike before the year was out. George Saunders, master of the Ivor, was among fifteen brave men who perished on Christmas Eve 1895 when the Kingstown lifeboat Civil Service Number One capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the Finnish barque Palme.

A violent storm—described at the time as “the most severe of the century”—had swept into Dublin Bay. The Palme, dragging her anchor off Merrion Strand, was in imminent danger of being driven onto the rocks. The lifeboat, under coxswain Alexander Williams, set out to assist. As it neared the distressed vessel, the crew lowered sail and took to the oars. Then, in full public view from the shore, a huge wave lifted the lifeboat and capsized her. Some of the crew clambered onto the upturned hull, while the Palme’s men attempted to launch their own longboat to save them—but it was smashed in the surf. All fifteen lifeboat men were lost.

The second Kingstown lifeboat, Hannah Pickard, under coxswain Horner, also put to sea. She was capsized but righted herself, her crew scrambling back on board. Driven ashore at Vance’s Harbour, Blackrock, she survived the ordeal. On St Stephen’s Day, the Irish Lights steamer Tearaght, under Captain McCombie, succeeded in reaching the Palme and rescuing all twenty crew.

The disaster claimed not only George Saunders but also his brother Francis. The two are buried side by side in Deans Grange Cemetery. Further misfortune befell the family in October 1918, when Francis’s widow, Frances Saunders, drowned in the sinking of the RMS Leinster, torpedoed by a German U-boat.

Sir William’s yachting connections often extended to the highest social and sporting circles. One surviving photograph shows the German Emperor Wilhelm II’s yacht Meteor at Kingstown. The Waterford News of 1 August 1886, in a column titled “Fame and Fashion,” recorded:

Mr WGD Goff, JP, and his son Mr Herbert Goff were on the German Emperor’s yacht, Meteor, during the race on the second day of the Kingstown Regatta. On the first day Mr Herbert Goff was on board the Prince of Wales yacht Britannia.

The 1901 Lloyd’s Register of Yachts is the last edition where the name of WGD Goff appears as owner of the Ivor. For the next three years, the Ivor is listed as being registered in Waterford but the space for the owner’s name is left blank. Then in 1905, a new owner is listed in Lloyd’s Register of Yachts and it is Marcel Holtzer of Le Havre, in France. Had the steam yacht been laid-up, all that time, while Sir William sought a new owner? His interest and involvement in the fledgling motoring industry would certainly have given him very little time to pursuit other interests. His yachting career appears to have been over at that point. 

Was this one last hurrah?

The Munster Express of July 28th, 1900 carried an account of two sailing races held in Dunmore East involving yachts belonging to Mr Goff and Mr Morley. The 1900 Lloyd’s Register of Yachts only list the Ivor as belonging   to Mr Goff. There are no details of any other yacht. On the other hand, there were two Morleys listed as owning yachts, registered in Waterford. Mr Cornelius Morley, JP, DL, (1841-1911) from Portlaw, Co Waterford was a son-in-law of William Malcomson of the famous Malcomson dynasty. He was owner of a 6-ton cutter called Mavis, that had been built by the famous P Hollwey & Sons in Dublin. His son, Cornelius Cecil Morley (1877- 1966) is listed as owning Banshee, an 8-ton cutter. The address for Cornelius Cecil is given as Cambridge University, where he must have been a student.   The newspaper, unfortunately, omits any reference to the yacht names that took part in the races. Neither do they distinguish between the two Morleys.

DUNMORE NOTES  (From Our Special.)

Two very exciting yacht races took place in Dunmore- one on Monday, the other on Tuesday. The contests were between Mr WGD Goff’s five-tonner and Mr Morley’s boat of exactly same dimensions. The former was sailed by the owner and Mr Herbert Goff, and the latter by the Marquis of Waterford.The two yachts were in every respect the same as regards measurement and sails, and the first contest was looked forward to with much excitement. The course was from the harbour at Dunmore to a flag-boat moored between Dunmore and Creadan. The boats then made for another turning boat stationed outside the harbour, and then into the dock and back again- a distance of 18 miles. The contest was a very close one, Lord Waterford eventually winning by 2¼ minutes. A return match was sailed the following day, which was even more interesting than the first. The Marquis got away with the start, but rounding the first flag-boat, Mr Goff passed him by four seconds. They sailed together for a long distance, when gradually his Lordship- who by the way showed admirable seamanship and is obviously no novice at the game – crept ahead, and Mr Goff made a mistake in trying to round the second flag-boat and had to tack a second time. The wind died away to nothing and the trial was unsatisfactory to both, Lord Waterford winning by 3 mins, 5 secs. It was rumoured that a private bet of £50 was wagered on the second match. 

A subsequent piece of research discovered by this writer reveals that Mr Goff and Cornelius C Morley, under the aegis of the Southern Steam Trawling Company, with a registered office of 127, The Quay, Waterford, were the owners of many steam trawlers that were based at Milford Haven in Wales.[8]

On May 2nd, 1904. King Edward VΙΙ and Queen Alexandra visited Waterford and Julian Walton states that Sir William was instrumental in making their visit an outstanding event.  Recognition and reward of this was forthcoming in the following years King’s birthday honours, when he received a Baronetcy.[9]

[8] http://www.llangibby.eclipse.co.uk/steamtrawlers18811914.htm

[9]  Irish Independent, November 9th, 1905

Sir William was a staunch Unionist and, along with the Church of Ireland Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Henry O’Hara, led local opposition to Home Rule in Waterford. In June 1912, he attempted to hold a meeting of Unionists in Waterford City Hall to voice their opposition, but the Mayor refused permission. Undeterred, the gathering was instead held in the grounds of his home at Glenville on 13 June 1912. [10] 

Sir William Goff Davis-Goff died on 23 November 1917, in his eightieth year, after a long illness. As the Munster Express reported, his funeral took place from Glenville to Ballinakill, in accordance with his wish to be buried where he died, rather than in the family burial ground at Horetown, Co. Wexford. The cortege was described as “large and representative,” a mark of the respect in which he was held. [11]

Footnote :

By 1960, the site of Glenville House was to be associated with another “first.” The original house had been demolished, and Snowcream Dairies had relocated to the grounds. Snowcream became the first dairy outside Dublin to produce pasteurised milk, a development widely credited with making a serious contribution to the fight against tuberculosis.

In 1989, Sir William’s great-granddaughter, Annabel Davis-Goff—daughter of Sir Ernest Goff, 3rd Baronet—published Walled Garden: Scenes from an Anglo-Irish Childhood. This evocative memoir captured the vanished world of the 1940s Anglo-Irish gentry, centring on her childhood at Glenville.  

Joe Falvey has described the book as “proving a delightful and insightful read giving a glimpse into a world and way of life that has almost disappeared as the Anglo-Irish, in decline from a previously dominant role in society in Ireland struggled, often in penury in keeping up appearances and punctilious good behaviours.”

[10] https://www.waterfordcouncil.ie/departments/culture-heritage/archives/exhibitions/waterford1916-1918/waterford-unionism.htm
[11] Munster Express, December 1st, 1917.
[12] https://waterford-news.ie/2019/04/16/gaultier-heritage-rambles-no-1-maypark-lane-ardkeen-and-the-river-loop/

Epilogue:
Sir William’s life was one of restless enterprise, marked by a remarkable breadth of interests: yachtsman, cyclist, motoring pioneer, industrialist, and public figure. His name was linked to innovation, competition, and civic engagement at a time when Waterford itself was changing rapidly. Today, his story survives not only in archives and memoirs but in the enduring heritage of the city he helped shape—a reminder of a complex figure who bridged the worlds of Victorian ambition and modern Irish history.