Titanic Passengers Remembered 100 Years On

May 15, 2012 - PRLog -- Martin McMahon (20), Daniel Keane (35) and Mary Agatha Glynn (19) were the County’s sole passengers on the ill-fated liner, which sank after colliding with an iceberg on its maiden transatlantic crossing from Southampton (UK) to New York (US) in April 1912.  Mary Agatha, a native of Flagmount, survived the sinking while the bodies of the two Clare men were never recovered.

One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, Titanic was designed by Thomas Andrews from Co. Down and built in Belfast at Harland & Wolf Shipyard. In total, just 712 of the ship’s 2,228 passengers were saved. Records show that 110 Irish lost their lives and 54 survived the sinking.  

A number of ceremonies marking the one hundredth anniversary of ship’s sinking took place around the world last month, including at Cobh (formerly known as Queenstown) where Clare’s Titanic passengers began their journey on Thursday 11 April 1912.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Hayes was joined by relatives of the passengers as he unveiled a plaque dedicated to the memory of the three passengers at Áras Contae an Chláir. Mayor Hayes said the plaque had been commissioned to ensure Titanic’s Clare passengers would be remembered by future generations.

Speaking last night, Mayor Hayes said: “More than one hundred years on, many people remain fascinated by the story of Titanic. The ship was regarded as the pinnacle of man’s engineering ability while many of its First Class passengers were drawn from some of the world’s best known and wealthiest families. The ship also was regarded as a microcosm of society at the time due to its segregated class system, and the fact that the majority of those saved emanating from the First Class section of the ship.”

“It is important that Clare County Council recognises Clare’s connections with an event that has captured the public’s imagination for more than a century. In erecting this plaque we are remembering not only these connections but all of those who tragically lost their lives in the disaster,” stated the Mayor.

Mary Agatha Glynn from Flagmount survived the sinking.  She was on her way to start a new life in Washington when the White Star Liner collided with an iceberg on the evening of 14 April 1912. After being rescued in Life Boat 13 by the Carpathia and taken to New York, the Third Class passenger carried on to Washington, where she lived until 1955. The East Clare native died aged 61.

Farm labourer Martin McMahon from Cragbrien, Tiermaclane, also a Third Class passenger, died in the world’s most famous maritime disaster along with 35-year-old Daniel Keane from Gallows Hill in Cratloe.  Mr. Keane, a second class passenger, had planned to travel on to St Louis, Missouri, after arriving in New York City. Mr. Keane’s body, if recovered, was never identified.

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Mark Dunphy
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