The Titanic
The history of the world famous Titanic has always had close links with Ireland. The famous liner was built in the Belfast ship builders of Harland and Wolfe. At the time of the launch of the ship in May 1911 it was the biggest ship in the world. Harland and Wolfe also built two sister ships of the Titanic, the RMS Olympic and the HMHS Britannic. During her maiden voyage the Titanic sunk after famously hitting a ice berg with the loss of 1,523 lives.
The relationship between Ireland and the Titanic goes beyond the construction of the ship. The last port of call before the sinking of the ship was Cobh in County Cork. 123 Irish people left Cobh on the ill fated ship. It was a time of massive emigration in Ireland and a ticket on the Titanic would have been very valuable. Unfortunately only 44 Irish people survived the tragedy. The recent film ‘Titanic’ told the story of a Irish passenger who won a ticket on the Titanic the night before its departure.
The relationship between Cobh and the Titanic is kept alive today through the Titanic Trail which provides guided heritage tours which examines the last port of call of the Titanic. The tour was established in 1998 and since then has been a major success. Today the deaths of the Irish people onboard the Titanic is honored by a bronze statue at Cobh Harbour.
Amazingly the last person to remember the sinking of the Titanic died on May 6 2006. Lilian Gertrud Asplund who was just 5 years old at the time, and lost several members of her family in the tragedy.
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