Cobh invites public to mark the 110th anniversary of Titanic disaster

In April, 1912 the RMS Titanic called to the port of Cobh on her maiden voyage.  Three days later the liner struck an iceberg. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died.

A Cork Harbour town which was the last port of the call for the doomed Titanic will mark the 110th anniversary of the tragedy early next month with its first public commemoration of the disaster since the pandemic.

Organisers of the event in Cobh have now issued an open invitation to the public to gather in the town on April 10 to remember all those who died when the liner sank on her maiden voyage to New York in 1912.

The ceremony, organised by Cobh Tourism, will start at 2.30pm with a focus on the Titanic Memorial in Pearse Square in the town centre and on the promenade.

A colour party from the Cobh Irish Naval Branch ONE will parade from the old town hall at Lynch’s Quay to the memorial where a ceremony of prayers and a wreath laying will take place along with musical honours provided by the Commodore Male Voice Choir.

The focus will then switch to the promenade where the names of the 79 passengers who boarded the Titanic in Cobh on April 11 1912, and who perished in the North Atlantic less than four days later, will be read out.

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A wreath will then be placed in the sea in memory of all those lost in the tragedy, with the Cobh Confraternity Band performing the Last Post and Reveille.

Captain Edward Smith, skipper of the Titanic, on the bridge of the liner while in Cobh.

Hendrick Verwey, a member of Cobh Tourism, said this year’s event has added significance given that it will be the first public commemoration since the pandemic.

The board made special arrangements during the various lockdown restrictions to commemorate the tragedy, with one person delegated to lay a wreath at the memorial at dawn on the anniversary.

But Mr Verwey said: “Being able to gather once more for this significant 110-year commemorative ceremony is another small but significant step for the town in regaining some normality after the challenges of the pandemic”.

Delegates from the British Titanic Society will also travel from the UK to stay in Cobh for four days as they host their 35th annual convention in the town from April 7 to 10.

Their event series will feature tours and lectures by Titanic scholars as well as a gala dinner.

The Titanic, built in Belfast and operated by the White Star Line, was the largest ship afloat when it was launched in May 1911.

It set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, stopping off at Cobh, before sinking in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died.