Great Eastern Steamship Visit To Dublin Souvenir 1886 - Obverse; View of the Ship. Reverse; Legend gilded base metal, 32mm. SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refueling. The ship's five funnels were unique, later reduced to four. She plied for several years as a passenger liner between Britain and North America before being converted to a cable-laying ship and laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.  Finishing her life as a floating music hall and entertainments (for the famous department store Lewis's) in Liverpool, she was broken up in 1889.