LUSITANIA SINKING;
CENTENARY REMEMBERED
IN IRELAND, OFFICIAL
STATE COMMEMORATION:
Irish President, H.E. Mr Michael D Higgins arrived in
Cobh, in Co Cork, today to mark the anniversary and Minister
for Defence Simon Coveney attended events at the Old Head of Kinsale,
County Cork opposite the place 12 miles out to sea where the Lusitania was
torpedoed by German U20 during WW1 in 1915..
President Higgins was welcomed at the Official
Commemoration Ceremony by a full naval service guard of honour and the Band of
1st Southern Brigade at 1.30pm.
He was joined by British Ambassador Dominick
Chilcott, US Ambassador Kevin O’Malley, German Federal Republic Ambassador
Matthias Hopfner, Cunard chairman, David Dingle,and Port of Cork
chairman John Mullins.
Cobh was at the centre of rescue efforts in 1915, when hundreds of small boats were sent to rescue survivors and recover bodies. 761 people were saved, while the majority of the 1,201 passengers who lost their lives were never recovered. Thousands gathered in Cobh today to remember those who were lost and those who risked their lives to save others and recover the remains of the dead. 150 of the victims were also buried in the town in mass graves in the Old Church cemetery. 80 of them were never identified. When the survivors came ashore the people of Cobh embraced, fed, clothed and took care of them, like they were their own. They also treated the bodies with the greatest of respect. They continue to carefully look after the graves of those who died to this day.The ceremony began at 1pm and ended with a wreath laying ceremony at the Lusitania Monument in Town Square.
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| Irish President, H.E. Micheal D. Higgins received by Irish Navy Guard of Honour at Cobh today. |
Cobh was at the centre of rescue efforts in 1915, when hundreds of small boats were sent to rescue survivors and recover bodies. 761 people were saved, while the majority of the 1,201 passengers who lost their lives were never recovered. Thousands gathered in Cobh today to remember those who were lost and those who risked their lives to save others and recover the remains of the dead. 150 of the victims were also buried in the town in mass graves in the Old Church cemetery. 80 of them were never identified. When the survivors came ashore the people of Cobh embraced, fed, clothed and took care of them, like they were their own. They also treated the bodies with the greatest of respect. They continue to carefully look after the graves of those who died to this day.The ceremony began at 1pm and ended with a wreath laying ceremony at the Lusitania Monument in Town Square.
The ceremony included a minute's silence, signalled by
the Cunard Liner Queen Victoria which had travelled from
Liverpool carrying many relatives of the passengers lost in the sinking 100
years ago, multi-denominational religious blessings and hymns, and a wreath
laying ceremony by President Higgins and the British, German and US
ambassadors at the Lusitania Monument in Cobh’s Town Square.
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| Today at the Lusitania Memorial in Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland. |
Ahead of today’s events, Minister of State with
responsibility for Natural Resources at the Department of Communications,
Energy & Natural Resources, Joe McHugh T.D., and Minister for Arts,
Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D, today welcomed the
publication of new state-of-the-art sonar imagery of the RMS Lusitania.
Members of the INFOMAR (INtegrated Mapping FOr the Sustainable Development of
Ireland's Marine Resource) team from the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and
the National Monuments Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht have recently produced and assessed this brand new sonar imagery of
the wreck of the RMS Lusitania.
The current condition of the RMS Lusitania on the
seafloor, 100-years after its sinking on May 7th 1915, is revealed
in greater detail than ever before. The imagery provides a sense of the scale
and history of the site, a tangible connection to the wreck and to the dramatic
and tragic events that surrounded its sinking. The 240m long vessel is clearly
defined on the sea floor, lying on its starboard side and standing over 14m
high above the seabed. Minister McHugh said that “The new imagery of the Lusitania
provides the most detailed information and overview of the wreck site
compiled to date and provides a solid framework upon which new research and
analysis can be based”.
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| Sonar image of Lusitania wreck on seabed of south coast of Ireland(Ir.Geol.Survey) |
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ms Humphreys,
added “It is fitting that these images are being in the centenary year of the
sinking of the Lusitania. The imagery will provide important information on how
the shipwreck has changed over the last 100 years.”
"This new survey data is extremely important from a site
protection point of view. It will add to our knowledge and understanding of the
wreck site on the seabed, its current condition and how the site has changed or
degraded over the years. Additionally, the data, in tandem with previous
information from individual divers to the site, will be very beneficial in
developing our understanding of the physical processes at play at the wreck
site and in the surrounding seabed and should help inform long term management
strategies for protecting, investigating and conserving the wreck" .
Four coastal communities in County Cork came together to
remember the 1,200 passengers and crew who died when the Cunard flagship went
down just 18 minutes after being torpedoed on May 7th 1915. Kinsale town,
the Old Head of Kinsale, Cobh (formerly Queenstown) and Courtmacsherry all
witnessed the disaster and its aftermath first-hand.
Remembrance at sea
The RNLI's Courtmacsherry lifeboat put to sea to lay a
wreath at the site of the Lusitania's wreck, 18 kilometres (11
miles) off the southern Irish coast.The ceremony at 2.10pm marked the
moment U-20's torpedo struck the liner on her voyage from New York to
Liverpool. Schoolchildren in Courtmacsherry released 1,201 balloons, each bearing the name
of a Lusitania victim. In Kinsale, schools observed a minute's silence while Church bells rang. The site was also visited today by Cunard liner Queen Victoria which was carrying many relatives of the passengers lost in the sinking. The Queen Victoria then travelled to Cobh to take part in the State commemoration.
The Cunard Chairman, David Dingle, took part in a
wreath-laying ceremony at the Old Church Graveyard in Cobh, where 150
Lusitania victims are buried. Lectures and musical performances took
place during the day. A flotilla of small boats, illuminated with white lights,
will sail towards Cobh in the evening, symbolising the return of the first
rescue boats with victims and survivors a century ago.
RMS Lusitania, nicknamed the 'Lusy' by those who sailed on
her, was torpedoed in coastal waters which had been declared a war
zone by the Germans in response to the British naval blockade of Germany.
Ireland was part of the United Kingdom during the First World War. More than
100 of the dead were Americans, provoking a diplomatic row between the
neutral United States and Germany. The German Government regretted the huge loss of life and suspended its Uboat campaign but, when the campaign was renewed in 1917, in response to Britain's total naval blockade of Germany, including food supplies, the United States joined the War on the side of Britain and France against Germany and Austria. Germany surrendered 19 months later. Both German and Austrian Empires collapsed as a result of their defeat.
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| New York Times reports the sinking in 1915. |
Throughout April and early May 2015, there will be a
series of free lectures in Cobh, Ballinspittle and Kinsale, as well as
screenings of films and documentaries relating to the Lusitania disaster.
Details of all events can be found on the Lusitania100Cork
website.
