Lusitania memorabilia on the menu at auction

The tragedy of the sinking of the Lusitania has always overshadowed the grandeur of the ship, but items from the liner which go on auction tomorrow show that five-star treatment was enjoyed by even second-class passengers.

Among the items to be sold by Lynes & Lynes at their auction rooms in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, is a breakfast menu for what was described as Second Cabin passengers.

The fare is formidable, to say the least. On Friday, June 24, 1910 — five years before the sinking — breakfast consisted of oranges and figs with oatmeal porridge and fresh milk, perhaps enough to satisfy the health-conscious today.