Ireland

Unique exhibition of survivors of the Lusitania opens in Cobh

Photographs show people coming ashore as part of event to mark centenary of the sinking

A sample of the photos on exhibit at The Cobh Credit Union Lusitania Centenary Photographic Collection in Cobh, Co. Cork from Sunday 26 April 2015. The exhibition comprises of over sixty striking images, mostly taken in Cobh in the aftermath of the Lusitania tragedy. The A.H. Poole Lusitania collection was digitised from glass plates held in the National Library of Ireland and has never been seen collectively in the 100 years since the photographs were taken. For more see www.visitcorkcounty.com/Lusitania100Cork. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
A sample of the photos on exhibit at The Cobh Credit Union Lusitania Centenary Photographic Collection in Cobh, Co. Cork from Sunday 26 April 2015. The exhibition comprises of over sixty striking images, mostly taken in Cobh in the aftermath of the Lusitania tragedy. The A.H. Poole Lusitania collection was digitised from glass plates held in the National Library of Ireland and has never been seen collectively in the 100 years since the photographs were taken. For more see www.visitcorkcounty.com/Lusitania100Cork. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
Barry Roche
Mon Apr 27 2015 - 00:00

A unique exhibition of photographs of survivors of the sinking of RMS Lusitania has opened in Cobh as part of a series of events to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Cunard liner off Co Cork.

The ship, with 1,959 passengers and crew on board, was torpedoed 18 kms off the Old Head of Kinsale on May 7th 1915 by the German submarine, U20 en route from New York to Liverpool.

The Lusitania sank within 18 minutes and some 1,198 people perished with many of the 761 survivors being brought ashore in Cobh or Queenstown as it was known at the time.

A sample of the photos on exhibit at The Cobh Credit Union Lusitania Centenary Photographic Collection in Cobh, Co. Cork from Sunday 26 April 2015. The exhibition comprises of over sixty striking images, mostly taken in Cobh in the aftermath of the Lusitania tragedy. The A.H. Poole Lusitania collection was digitised from glass plates held in the National Library of Ireland and has never been seen collectively in the 100 years since the photographs were taken. For more see www.visitcorkcounty.com/Lusitania100Cork. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
A sample of the photos on exhibit at The Cobh Credit Union Lusitania Centenary Photographic Collection in Cobh, Co. Cork from Sunday 26 April 2015. The exhibition comprises of over sixty striking images, mostly taken in Cobh in the aftermath of the Lusitania tragedy. The A.H. Poole Lusitania collection was digitised from glass plates held in the National Library of Ireland and has never been seen collectively in the 100 years since the photographs were taken. For more see www.visitcorkcounty.com/Lusitania100Cork. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Now Cobh Credit Union is sponsoring an exhibition of photographs in the former Cunard offices in the town as genealogist at the Queenstown Story Heritage Centre, Christy Keating explained:

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"We had thought there might be some photographs in the Lawrence Collection but about two years ago, staff in the National Library of Ireland found around 60 photographs in the AH Poole Collection.

"Poole was based in Waterford but he travelled to Cobh and while a lot of newspaper photographers went to Kinsale, thinking all the bodies were being brought ashore there, he remained in Cobh.

“He was there when many of the survivors came ashore and he also photographed the funerals of the 169 Lusitania victims who were buried in a mass grave in the Old Church Cemetery in the town.”

Mr Keating said the Poole photographs were on glass plates but staff at the National Library agreed to a request from Cobh to digitise them and many will now be seen for the first time in decades.

“There are some really striking images of the funerals – some 160 men of the Fourth Royal Rifles spent two days digging three mass graves for the bodies in the Old Church Cemetery in the town.

"And then on May 10th, Mr Moynihan the undertaker spent from 11am until 3pm bringing the bodies out by horse and cart to the graveyard from the three temporary morgues set up in the town.

“Thousands turned out to pay their final respects to the victims and there isn’t a smile to be seen in a seemingly endless sea of faces in the photos - respect is evident everywhere,” said Mr Keating.

The Cobh Credit Union Lusitania Centenary Exhibition runs until the end of May. For more details on Lusitania commemorations in Cork, please go to www.visitcorkcounty.com/Lusitania100Cork.

Barry Roche

Barry Roche

Barry Roche is Southern Correspondent of The Irish Times