Into depths of Titanic's history

Ship disaster claimed over 100 Irish lives

- BY SEAN MURPHY

TODAY marks 113 years since the world's most famous ship, Titanic, went under on April 15 in 1912 with the loss of over 100 Irish lives.

At least 110 victims from Ireland were amongst the 1,517 dead on board the stricken Titanic.

The tragedy reached across Ireland with the death toll directly affecting 22 counties.

The world’s largest ocean liner was designed by Irishman Alexander Montgomery Carlisle, from Ballymena, Co Antrim.

It went down in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, some 600km south of Canadian province Newfoundland.

RAILWAY

The ship, which was heralded worldwide as impenetrable, was built in Belfast and sailed on its maiden voyage from Southampton and then Cork.

Five men died during the construction of the ship at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, while only 54 Irish people survived its sinking.

Of the 110 Irish victims, 14 of them - men and women - came from the Mayo village of Addergoole on their way to New York in America to build a new life.

They boarded at Cobh, known as Queenstown until 1922, along with others from Belfast and Cork towns Ballydesmond and Ballydehob.

Researchers also found entries for passengers like Neal McNamee from Co Donegal and his wife Eileen, who died whilst celebrating their wedding of only three months earlier.