Titanic exhibition to showcase liner's artefacts

More than 300 personal artefacts from the ill-fated Titanic are to go on public display as part of a major new exhibition, it was revealed tonight.

Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition opens in Dublin on Saturday showcasing the treasure trove including 19 never-before-seen items.

These include a St Patrick’s Day postcard of Blarney Castle, a letter, money, a linen handkerchief and newly-found rivets recovered from the wreck site two-and-a half miles below the north Atlantic.

Cheryl Mure, the exhibition’s Vice President of Education, said the public will be able to view recreated first class cabins, third class accommodation and the boiler room

“All of the while you’re viewing personal effects of the passengers and the crew, and parts of the ship itself,” Ms Mure said.

“So it’s a remarkable way to connect to the story of Titanic like never before.”

Among the collection is a top hat, gentleman’s spectacles, the Titanic Bell, the steering wheel stand, the officers’ window, china from all three classes, a telegraph base and a piece of the ship’s hull.

Each person will receive a replica boarding pass of an actual Titanic passenger upon entrance.

The visitors are then immersed in the exhibition as they take a chronological journey through Titanic, from the ship’s construction to life on board, the sinking in April 1912 and artefact recovery efforts.

One special gallery will be dedicated to Irish connections where visitors discover the country’s reaction and ties to the event.

In the final gallery guests will take their boarding pass to the memorial wall and learn if their passenger and travelling companions survived or perished.

The exhibition has been on the go for around 15 years and toured countries around the country.

The artefacts were recovered between 1987 and 2004 by RMS Titanic Inc, the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck.

“For more than 15 years Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition has waited to bring the famous ship to Ireland and this exciting partnership is an ideal opportunity for the exhibition,” Ms Mure said.

“On that unexpected night in 1912, more than 1,500 passengers met the same fate no matter their class or place in society; a shocking ending to what was a joyous journey.

“Their story is our story and it is our honour and duty to share these treasures with Ireland at such a poignant time.”

The exhibition will run at Citywest Event Centre from Saturday to June 30 next year.