Lusitania wreck owner to attend film premiere

The owner of the wreck of the Lusitania is jetting in to Cork next month for a special event to mark the worldwide launch of a documentary on the ill-fated vessel.

American Gregg Bemis, 82, will be at the Port of Cork headquarters on Sep 14 for the event, hosted by Cork-based M3 TV Productions, which worked on the Dark Secrets of the Lusitania documentary, which premiered on the National Geographic Channel last month.

The documentary attempts to uncover what really happened to the vessel, which was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat off the coast of Cork on May 7, 1915, with the loss of 1,198 lives.

To mark the launch, actors will be dressed in World War One period costume, the Irish Examiner will hold a digital exhibition of Lusitania photos, and UCC’s Dermot Keogh will give an overview of the period.

Minister for Arts and Heritage Jimmy Deenihan and officials from the Irish Coast Guard and the Naval Service are also expected to attend the invite-only event.