Because it sits near the entrance
to Cork harbor, Cobh’s history is intimately tied to a history of shipping. Two
famous ship disasters loom large in its history. The connection between the
Titanic and Ireland is substantial. Built in the dockyards of Belfast, its last
port of call was Cobh (then known as Queenstown) just four days before striking
an iceberg and sinking. It is difficult to comprehend how large the ship was
and how monumental the disaster. Today in the shipyards of Belfast, you can
walk around an outline of where the ship was built; a walk around the decks
would have provided good exercise for the passengers. So large was the ship,
that the loss of life was substantial and trying. Well over a century later, in
order to make a comparison, it is tempting to say that a major airline disaster
might be equivalent. Yet, the size of the ship meant that it would mean ten
aircrafts crashing to equal the number people affected. The passengers included
both the super-wealthy and people desperate to migrate to the United States to
start a new life. Certainly, there are many of us who travel across the
Atlantic that cannot imagine the level of service or quality of food available
to the passengers, even in second and third class. Traveling in coach class in
airplanes in the twenty-first century is not the equivalent of traveling third
class on the Titanic.
The Titanic captures our
imagination because of the stories involved. Certainly, because it was so big,
so luxurious, we remember the opulence of a time gone by. There are not many of
photographs of the ship. The Cobh Heritage Centre contains a few photographs
from Frank Brown, who was among the seven who disembarked from the Titanic at
Queenstown. His photographs give us a peek into a place where few experienced;
a ship being used, rather than architectural photographs of a completed
project. The final set of 123 passengers boarded in Queenstown. The Titanic would only
sail once, and most of the people on board would face a harrowing experience, many
losing their lives. Like many dramatic events, the loss of the Titanic is often
reduced to statistical numbers in order to demonstrate the scale of the
tragedy. But these numbers rob the victims of their stories, which reminds us
that these were actual people. For instance, boarding at Queenstown was Dennis
Lennon and Mary Mullen, who were eloping to America. Jeremiah Burke, during his
final minutes, would write a message of farewell to his family and friends and
place it in a bottle, which came ashore in Dunkettle. There were also
backstories to the Titanic that reflect national identities yesterday and
today. Built by Irish laborers, at the time some expressed concerns about the
quality of workmanship of those who worked on the great ship. A t-shirt available in the local tourist
shops in Belfast reads: “Titanic – built by Irishmen. Sunk by an Englishman.”
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| Titanic Memorial Park, Cobh, Ireland |
I began a walk in Cobh under
mostly sunny skies, yet by the time I got to the Titanic Memorial Gardens pesky
sprinkles had begun. While exploring the area, the rain turned to a downpour
and I sought shelter under a narrow arch. The rapidly changing weather prompted
a resident to use an oft repeated and apt saying. As the rain became heavier
and more persistent, a grandfather who had been enjoying a stroll while his
grandson was ineffectually throwing a boomerang. I wondered if it was a gift
from a relative who had emigrated to Australia after the financial crisis. The
gentleman, seemingly kind and patient, called to his charge to hurry along,
“Come on. It's raining, lad.” He sighed, as if he lamented the interruption of
his walk saying, “Aye. Four seasons in one day again.”
While you might consider the sinking
of the Titanic a disaster borne of
hubris, the sinking of RMS Lusitania is more directly related to humans’
inability to get along. The Lusitania
was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat off old Head of Kinsdale, 25 miles
west of Queenstown. Nearly 1200 people died when the ship was sunk and the
event had a dramatic effect on propaganda, public opinion, and the course of
World War I. Survivors and bodies from the Lusitania were brought to
Queenstown. Completely overwhelmed some of the survivors were taken in by local
residents. It was the year before the Easter Rising and Queenstown, the name of
Cobh prior to Irish independence, was to remain a part of the British Empire
for the next seven years.
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| Lusitania Memorial (Cobh) |
In the local museum, a letter
from Winifred Hull, a thirty-three-year-old British survivor, living in
Winnipeg, to the Swanton family who housed her in the aftermath of the sinking is
illuminating and distressing. In it she expresses deep regret for not writing
sooner; however, it is clear to the reader she has been traumatized by the events.
Hull counts herself lucky because her friends lost family members during the
incident. She writes that every time she cogitates about the events her hands
begin to shake. When she does compose the letter, eighteen days afterwards, she
writes: “Will any of us ever forget, I wonder, I think not. But neither, I am
sure, shall we ever forget the wondrous kindness shown to us, who survived that
awful experience by the people of Queenstown, and by yourselves particularly to
my friends and myself.” I was struck, in the middle of such tragedy, people
often remember the most mundane things. Hull agonizes about not returning Mrs. Swanton’s
coat sooner.
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| Mass grave marker for Lusitania victims |
I walked to the Old Church
Cemetery, just outside of Cobh, where there are 169 victims from the Lusitania
buried. By the afternoon the weather had cleared up and it was a pleasant walk.
This was the area of town where several local residents would do their
shopping. Several boys were jumping the fence across the small path that
separated the cemetery and their local football (soccer) practice field.
Otherwise, I saw very few people. Most of the Lusitania victims are buried in
mass graves at the west end of the cemetery. Three mounds are each marked by
four Irish yew trees. As the centenary of the sinking and the First World War
passes, I found myself wandering about the relevance of the events and memories
to future generations. Among the other graves in the Old Church Cemetery was
the British doctor who had administered to Napoleon during his exile on St.
Helena. The Battle of Waterloo, which led to Napoleon’s exile, took place a
hundred years prior to the sinking of the Lusitania. Yet, to most people today
Napoleon is a footnote of history. A hundred years on, the Lusitania and the
First World War will likely become the same.
