Zoe Cannell is the sixth poet from the Isle of Man to be raised to the chair of the Manx Bard.

Each month, she will share a poem with us, and explain what led her to write it.

I was honoured to have been invited to write and recite a special poem to pay tribute to the seven young fishermen who sadly lost their lives when the scallop dredger, the Solway Harvester, sank off the coast of the island in the year 2000.

A memorial service was held at 11am up at Douglas Head on Saturday January 11, 20 years to the day since the disaster.

There lies a granite memorial which was sent over from the Isle of Whithorn in Scotland, the village from where the men hailed, to thank the Manx for their support over this tragedy.

So many remember it like it was yesterday, and the story of the sinking and subsequent raising of the ship has become a huge part of our history.

On Saturday it was wild and windy and the waves were ferocious.

It gave everyone an idea of the conditions out at sea that night.

It was a privilege to have been involved on Saturday, and good to speak with people who had played their part in a variety of ways.

This included former Chief Minister Donald Gelling, who had rightly taken the decision against Westminster bigwigs to raise the Solway Harvester to allow an investigation.

Quocunque Jeceris Stabit - the Manx stood up for what they believed in.

Afterwards I also attended the Douglas Lifeboat Station and talked with lifeboat crew there, the selfless volunteers, who regularly jump into action at a moment’s notice.

How proud we should be that the RNLI was founded by Sir William Hillary here on our unique and glorious Isle of Man.

by Zoe Cannell

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