HMS Wasp was a Banterer-class composite screw gunboat of the Royal Navy, built in 1880 by Barrow Iron Shipbuilding and wrecked off Tory Island in 1884.

This had the advantage of allowing the vessels to be coppered, thus keeping marine growth under control, a problem that caused iron-hulled ships to be frequently docked.

[1] A two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine by the builder, Barrow Iron Shipbuilding, provided 360 indicated horsepower (270 kW)[2][Note 1] through a single screw, sufficient to drive Wasp at 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph).

[1] Her keel was laid at Barrow Iron Shipbuilding as yard number 71 and she was launched on 5 October 1880.

Nicholls,[2] was sailing from Westport, County Mayo, in the West of Ireland, to Moville in Inishowen, County Donegal, in Ulster, to pick up a party of police, bailiffs and court officials, who were to be transported to Inishtrahull Island off Malin Head to carry out evictions for non-payment of rents.