DAN McCANN 1953 – 2008

March 15th, 2009 by JCB
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Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners has mourned the passing of Foyle Pilot Captain Dan McCann of Shrove, Greencastle in Co Donegal.  Dan spent 32 years as a pilot on the Foyle, having first gone to sea at the age of 14 in 1967, on board the “Owenro”, joining his elder brother John, who was captain of the ship.   

Dan served on at least 20 ships over the next 9 years and worked for shipping lines such as Gem Lines and Coes.  His travels took him to North Africa, the Mediterranean and Scandinavia before getting his Master’s Certificate to become a Captain in 1976 at the age of 23.  That same year he joined the Foyle Pilots, 55 years to the day after his own father had become a Foyle Pilot.  

Piloting on the Foyle was an integral part of his ancestry.  Dan was at least the sixth generation of Foyle Pilots on his father’s side – the first recorded reference being to Roger McCann in 1808, from whom he is directly descended.  Dan was also the fourth generation of Foyle Pilot’s on his mother’s side, descending from Neil Gillespie who was first recorded as a Foyle Pilot in 1811.

Until he retired from ill-health earlier this year, the ships he piloted through the narrow channels of Lough Foyle included all classes of vesels including high profile visitors like the Royal Yacht “Britannia”, and “The Bounty” in August 2007.

Dan will be deeply missed by his fellow pilots, boatmen and Londonderry Port and Harbour staff.  Harbour Master Bill McCann, a nephew of Dan’s, described him as someone who was “conscientious, safety conscious, an excellent ship handler with a calm steady temperament which meant he worked well in often hazardous conditions with ships’ crews from all round the world.”  

Fellow pilot Captain Con O’Donnell – who grew up with Dan in the same rural community – said that as a man, Dan’s life and loyalty was centred in his home and family but that when it came to his work as a pilot, “he brought the same loyalty and dedication to the job and to his colleagues.”

All those who knew him will remember Dan McCann as a gentle, kind, generous, straight and honest man.  He had a mischievous sense of humour and an ever present twinkle in his eye.

The sea was Dan’s profession but also his hobby and indeed his passion. For many years he spent his summer holidays fishing for salmon in Lough Foyle. Then for the past ten years he and his wife Michelle spent their free time sailing in their yacht “Aronele” along the west coast of Scotland and Hebridean islands. They planned to venture further afield after retiring. 

That was not to be, however, as Dan became seriously ill in October last year and peacefully passed away at home on 11^th Sept, aged 56 years. He is survived by his beloved wife Michelle, his sons John and Barry, daughter Meadhbh, daughter-in-law Fawzia and grandchildren Saoirse and Oisin, brothers Charlie, John and Desmond, and sisters Joan, Marie, Eileen and Katriona.

Submitted by :

Trish Hegarty

Press officer: Londonderry Port & Harbour Commissioners