Conference in UCC to look at sinking of Lusitania

An academic conference focusing on the sinking of the Lusitania and the general sea war from 1914 to 1918 is to be hosted by University College Cork next week.

The May 6 conference — organised by the university’s history department — is among the events marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the liner and the profound repercussions it had locally, nationally, and internationally.

The conference will be held in the Boole I lecture theatre and will feature a number of expert speakers from Britain and Ireland.

It will focus on a wide range of topics surrounding the tragedy, and the battle for supremacy of the seas which saw, for the first time, submarines become a real threat to military and civilian life.

READ MORE: Cork communities uniting to commemorate Lusitania

Topics coming under the microscope include the Royal Navy’s reaction to submarine warfare, the local relief effort, the response in the ship’s home port of Liverpool, and the wartime experiences of the Lusitania’s owner, Cunard Line.

Academics will also delve into the personal stories of the victims and survivors, the propaganda dimension to the sinking, the much overlooked French reaction, the origins of the ship’s design, and the reaction in the US to the loss.

READ MORE: Cobh prepares to mark 100 years since Lusitania sinking

The 1915 torpedoing by German submarine U-20 of the eight-year-old liner off the Old Head of Kinsale resulted in the loss of 1,198 passengers and crew.

A propaganda war had ensued which will be examined in detail by the experts.

In February, of that year, the Germans had declared the seas around Britain and Ireland a war zone, signalling allied ships passing through the area could be sunk without warning.

The British immediately declared the sinking of a civilian ship had breached international laws, but the Germans were quick to counter the vessel had been carrying munitions and, therefore, it was the British who had contravened the legislation.

A total of 128 Americans died on the vessel and the sinking caused a storm of protest in the US, resulting in America abandoning its neutrality and entering the war on the allies’ side.

The conference is free and there is no requirement to register in advance. It will run from 9am to 6pm and is organised in association with the Irish Examiner.

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Draft programme:

9am:

Opening remarks by Gabriel Doherty, UCC School of History.

9.10am:

The Royal Navy’s reaction to submarine warfare from Duncan Redford, Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth.

10am:

The sinking of the Lusitania: The local relief effort from Cobh-based historian Michael Martin, author of RMS Lusitania.

10.50am:

Coffee break

11.10am:

The response in Liverpool by Dr Bryce Evans, Department of History, Liverpool Hope University.

Midday:

The Cunard Line in the First World War from independent scholar Dr Steve Cobb.

12.50pm:

Lunch break

2.00pm:

The Lusitania: The personal stories from Peter Kelly.

2.50pm:

The sinking of the Lusitania and the propaganda war by UCC’s Ann Murray.

3.40pm:

Coffee break

4pm:

Warship or passenger ship? The origins of the Lusitania revisited by Matthew Seligmann, Department of History, Brunel University, London.

4.45pm:

Break.

5pm:

The American response to the sinking of the Lusitania. The speaker on this topic has yet to be confirmed.

5.55pm:

Closing remarks by Professor David Ryan, UCC School of History

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