Born Cork city, 1841, eldest of nine children; 1857 began work as apprentice engineer for Cork Corporation under City Architect Sir John Benson; Clerk of Works on construction of North Gate Bridge, completed in 1864; while working on a construction project on Pentonville Prison in London in 1866, involved in an attempted break-out of Fenian prisoners held there, attempt failed and Collins fled to New York; founder member in the U.S. of Irish-American organisation the United Brotherhood, a.k.a. Clan na nGael, active in the 1860’s and 70’s; later became involved in the field of meteorology, appointed Chief of the New York Herald Weather Bureau in 1877; joined an Arctic expedition from San Francisco in 1879, financed by the owner of the Herald, James Gordon Bennett, which would be beset with difficulties; Collins’ ship caught in a storm off the coast of Northern Siberia in 1881, leading to loss of most of the crew including Collins; remains returned to New York in 1884, and on to Cork for burial in the family plot at Curraghkippane, outside Cork city.
Reference: "Jerome J. Collins: The remarkable life and tragic death of Ireland's forgotten patriot", by Amy Johnson & Roger Herlihy, unpublished article
The plaque is located at South Gate Bridge.
A Place in Time - Episode 6: Jerome Collins, Engineer & Meteorologist by Conor O'Toole on Mixcloud
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