 She remained laid up for some time , before being put to varied use around England , Scotland and Ireland . In November 1846 , Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's iron ship SS Great Britain ran aground on the sands of Dundrum Bay , Ireland . There was doubt as to whether she could be re @-@ floated . Brunel advised that if anyone could rescue the ship then the man to do it was the naval engineer James Bremner . He was engaged and the Great Britain was re @-@ floated on 27 August 1847 with the assistance of HMS Birkenhead . 
