Jeanie Johnston is a replica of a three-masted barque that was originally built in Quebec, Canada, in 1847 by the Scottish-born shipbuilder John Munn.

The replica Jeanie Johnston performs a number of functions: it is an ocean-going sail training vessel at sea, and in port, it converts into a living history museum on 19th century emigration and, in the evenings, is used as a corporate event venue.

The original Jeanie Johnston was bought by Tralee-based merchants John Donovan & Sons, as a cargo vessel and traded successfully between Tralee and North America for a number of years.

The ship made a voyage from County Kerry to Quebec on 24 April 1848, with 193 emigrants on board, as the effects of the Great Famine ravaged Ireland.

This is generally attributed to the captain, James Attridge, not overloading the ship, and the presence of a qualified doctor, Richard Blennerhassett, on board for the passengers.

The ship was designed by Fred Walker, former Chief Naval Architect with the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.

[2] An international team of young people, linking Ireland North and South, the United States, Canada, and many other countries, built the replica under the supervision of experienced shipwrights.

The cost of the project was borne by the Irish government, Kerry County Council, Tralee Town Council, the European Union, the American Ireland Fund, Shannon Development, Kerry Group, the FÁS, and the Irish Department of the Marine, most of which later agreed to write off their losses.

She is fully compliant to the highest standards of modern ocean-going passenger ships, with steel water-tight bulkheads, down-flooding valves, and fire-fighting equipment.

It was originally planned to launch the ship from her shipyard in Blennerville, but a 19th-century shipwreck was discovered by marine archaeologists while a channel was being dredged.

[7] In 2003, the replica Jeanie Johnston sailed from Tralee to Canada and the United States, visiting 32 US and Canadian cities and attracting over 100,000 visitors.

The Department of Defence declared the Jeanie Johnston unsuitable because of her lack of speed, her required crew size of 11, and her inability to participate in tall ships races.

[11] In 2011, significant water damage was discovered, but repair work was not carried out until three years later, since the DDDA claims it did not have the funding to dry dock the vessel.