The Knights Gareth was torpedoed five miles NW of Bull Pouint on the 5^th January 1918 after she had coaled warships in Lough Swilly.  The crew abandoned ship and rowed ashore near the Giant’s Causeway and on to Portrush by the electric tram, thence by train to Belfast.

Although it has been stated that the Knights Gareth sank soon after being hit, this was not the case, as she drifted ashore just south of Bull Point the next day.  There were some rich pickings for the islanders for in addition to her normal duties of collier, she was also used a s fleet supply ship and she had on board tinned food, flour, candles, as well as a consignment of small arms and ammunition.  The former was most welcome as all were in short supply in wartime.  However, the latter aroused the interest of the local constabulary when they discovered that some of the arms had been retrieved from the wreck.  However, when they made a search of the island a few days later, they found nothing.

Three years later, an attempt was made by the North of Ireland Salvage Company to salvage the wreck but without success as their own vessel, Bouncer was wrecked alongside the Knights Gareth.

Diving information – The large caves at Tolovey just south of Bull Point is the final resting place for the fleet collier Knights Gareth. Not very much remains of this wreck except the boiler, some plates and the odd bits of brass. There is little or no current over the site and the depth ranges from 4 to 8 metres. The bottom is covered in quite heavy kelp with some very large boulders. A lot of the wreckage has been washed into the caves immediately opposite the wreck site so it is worth having a look through this as the odd porthole has turned up from time to time. However, pick a day when there is no swell running.