Clare-born engineer John Philip Holland (1841-1914) is credited with developing the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy and the first Royal Navy submarine, the Holland 1.
After John Philip left his native Liscannor, where his father worked for the Coast Guard, he emigrated to the US in 1873 where he worked for an engineering firm and also taught at a Catholic school in New Jersey.
But legend has it that soon after his arrival in the US, he slipped and fell on an icy Boston street and broke a leg.
He spent his time in hospital refining his designs for the first modern submarine.
Two years later, he sent his designs to the US Navy but they were rejected. It didn’t deter him and, in 1878, he unveiled the Holland I prototype and later, in 1881,he produced the Fenian Ram which was funded by the Fenians but they fell out over payment.
That submarine is now on display at the Paterson Museum in New Jersey.
He also invented the Holland Torpedo Boat Company in 1896 but eventually struck gold with his Holland VI in 1897.
It could run submerged for a long distance, and boasted both electric and gas engines – depending on whether it was in use above or below the surface. He sold the Holland VI to the US Navy in 1900 and it became the USS Holland.
The USS Holland design was the basis for many successors, used by both the British and Japanese navy.
The Royal Navy ‘Holland 1’ submarine can be seen at the Submarine Museum in Gosport in Hampshire in the UK.
Holland died in 1914 and is buried in New Jersey.
Maritime lawyer and Goleen native Michael Kingston has said that Holland’s influence on modern warfare cannot be over-estimated.
‘We often wonder did John Philip ever realise how much his work would impact world affairs for many years to come?’ added his researcher Liz (Holland) O’Mahony.
