Bid to raise €150k for state-of-the-art Lusitania museum in Kinsale

The wreck of the RMS Lusitania lies 21 kilometres off The Old Head, 90 metres below the waves.

Efforts are underway to raise €150,000 to create a new state-of-the-art Lusitania museum in Kinsale, Co Cork.

The museum will boast the world’s most detailed exhibit on the sinking of the liner credited with being instrumental in bringing the US into the First World War.

The Lusitania Museum/Old Head Signal Tower group, who are the the owners of the wreck of the RMS Lusitania, are at an advanced stage in the design process of their planned state-of-the-art museum.

The wreck lies 21 kilometres off The Old Head, 90 metres below the waves. The previous owner, Mr Gregg Bemis, gifted the wreck to the group in 2019.

The group previously established the Lusitania Memorial Garden in Kinsale with its iconic 20 metre long “Wave” sculpture which tells the story of the Lusitania's final voyage to disaster.

It contains the names of all those on board when she was torpedoed on May 7, 1915.

A professional Design Team has been appointed for the museum project.

A spokesman for the group said that a GoFundMe appeal is now being launched to raise the necessary finance to reach the ready to build stage.

Hopefully, the generosity of friends, both at home and abroad will continue and a modern museum can be built to honour the maritime history of this Atlantic coast.

Named in honour of RMS Lusitania, it will be a place of culture, learning and history, attracting tourists, visitors, schools, etc, while providing local employment opportunities.

"The target sum is €150K to complete the museum design and take us to planning permission and beyond. We rely on your continuing and generous support,” the spokesman said.

The Lusitania and the Old Head have remained inextricably linked.

On the 80th anniversary of the sinking a local community group erected a beautiful memorial stone at a point near the Old Head Signal Tower.

It was felt that more could and should be done to commemorate what was a critical moment during the First World War and of local, national and international significance.

Hence a new project which began more than 10 years ago has resulted in the restoration of the ruined Napoleonic Watch Tower as a visitors centre and panoramic viewing point. 

It opened in May 2015 to mark the centenary commemoration of the sinking of the Lusitania.

A memorial ceremony for the victims of the Lusitania at the memorial garden by the Lusitania Museum and Old Head of Kinsale Signal Tower, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

Meanwhile, on May 7, 2019, Gregg Bemis travelled from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to formally donate the wreck of the Lusitania to local community. He passed away a year later.

Kinsale was where some of the victims and survivors of the Lusitania were brought ashore. A few of the victims are buried in St Multose Churchyard nearby. Inquests were held in the local court house.

From the parapet of the Signal Tower visitors can look west to Courtmacsherry harbour which also has historic links to the Lusitania.

From Barry’s point a crew of 12 rowers, two cox and a bowman took the Kweiza Gwilt, coxed by Timothy Keohane to the site of the sinking in three heroic hours only to find bodies and debris everywhere.

The spokesman said that the story of the Lusitania will be told in the new museum via the display of artefacts, recently recovered from the wreck and through the use of modern multi-media technology. They hope it will prove to be a popular tourist attraction.

“It is Mr Bemis’ wish that the proposed museum, by recalling the horrors of war should press us all to cherish and nurture peace."

As a local voluntary, not-for-profit, registered charity, now entrusted with a precious historic legacy we intend to do justice to Mr Bemis’ vision and trust. This museum will be a destination for staycationers and foreign visitors alike.

For decades Mr Bemis had championed the historical exploration of the wreck to determine precisely why the famous liner sank so fast after being struck by a single German U-boat torpedo in 1915 as it steamed off the Old Head of Kinsale.

The businessman had acquired an interest in the First World War wreck in 1968 and in 1982 became sole owner of the wreckage and its salvage rights.

Mr Bemis had described as "a tragedy for Ireland" the fact a full expedition did not take place in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Lusitania’s sinking.

RMS Lusitania sank off the Cork coast on May 7, 1915, after being struck by a single torpedo from the German submarine, U-20.

However, a second internal explosion minutes later dramatically accelerated the rate of sinking — and cost hundreds more lives.

Mystery has surrounded the cause of the second explosion with theories linking it to munitions being carried on the liner, igniting dust in a coal bunker or a giant boiler exploding.

The liner was carrying almost 60 tonnes of munitions bound for Britain from the US.

A total of 1,198 people died with just over 700 being saved.

President Michael D Higgins, when serving as Heritage Minister over twenty years ago, placed a national heritage order on the Lusitania wreck.

Donations can be made to the new museum  here.