Granddaughter of Lusitania survivor to present moneybelt to Kinsale museum

Alice Middleton McDougall was mistakenly thought to be dead after being pulled from the sinking liner, but a finger twitch alerted staff to her survival and they christened her ‘Marvel’.

Jackie McDougall Weiner with a photo of her grandmother, Alice Middleton McDougall, who survived the sinking of the Lusitania. Ms Middleton McDougall was one of the 1,962 people on board the Cunard liner when it was torpedoed by a German u-boat some 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale on May 7, 1915, as it steamed from New York to Liverpool.

A granddaughter of the woman nicknamed Lusitania’s Marvel is due to present the moneybelt she was wearing when the ship was sunk to a Cork museum as it hosts commemorative events this weekend to mark the 107th anniversary of the maritime tragedy.

Oregon-based Jackie McDougall Weiner, the granddaughter of Lusitania survivor Alice Middleton McDougall, will visit the Old Head of Kinsale Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum on Saturday where she will formally present to the museum the moneybelt Alice was wearing when the ship went down.

She will also see the poignant lines of a verse of a poem her grandmother later wrote, The Sinking of the Lusitania, which have been carved into oak benches set in the centre’s memorial garden.

The last verse of the poem reads: “So this is war dear people, keep from it if you can, for with it we gain nothing, ’tis just the greed of man”.

Padraig Begley, a member of the committee which oversaw the development of the Signal Tower and museum, said he expects it to be a very poignant and emotional occasion for Ms Weiner, who has always expressed a desire to visit.

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“And we think the lines of Alice’s poem are as relevant today as they were when they were written,” he said.

Jackie holding the moneybelt her grandmother, Alice Middleton McDougall, was wearing when the ship was sunk. It is being presented to the Old Head Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum.

Alice Middleton McDougall, 25, was one of the 1,962 people on board the Cunard liner when it was torpedoed by a German u-boat some 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale on May 7, 1915, as it steamed from New York to Liverpool.

It went down within minutes with the loss of 1,201 lives. Alice was trapped on board as the ship sank and was pulled through a porthole, injuring her neck. She was plucked unconscious from the water by a flotilla of rescue boats which set off from Cobh and Kinsale and rescued 761 people.

She was brought to Cobh where she was mistaken to be dead and was placed in the morgue. But when someone saw one of her fingers twitch, she was taken to a local nursing home where she eventually regained consciousness and made a full recovery. Doctors christened her ‘Marvel’.

She went on to lead a long and happy life, passing away in Michigan in 1964 at the age of 75. Mr Begley said Jackie recalls sitting on her grandmother’s lap as a child and hearing stories of her remarkable experience and has always wanted to visit Ireland.

She will be one of the guests of honour at the Lusitania Memorial Garden this Saturday, along with Mitch Peeke, co-founder of the Lusitania Historical Society and co-author of ‘The Lusitania Story’.

Meanwhile, Cobh Tourism will host commemorative events at the Lusitania graves in the town's Old Church Cemetery at 2.30pm on Sunday, where 145 victims of the disaster were buried in three mass graves and in smaller plots - 80 were never identified. 

A wreath-laying ceremony will also take place at the Lusitania Peace Memorial in Casement Square at 3.15pm.