A pocket watch owned by an Irish woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic, sold for three times its asking price at a recent US auction.
The 18-carat gold watch stopped ticking on the day the ship sank, when Limerick woman Nora Keane was rescued by a lifeboat.
It sold for $24,675 at an auction in Massachusetts featuring dozens of items salvaged from the liner.
Ms Keane had emigrated to Pennsylvania and was returning to the US on the Titanic's maiden voyage after a four-month visit to see her mother in Castleconnell. The watch had been given to her as a good luck gift, but was damaged after the Titanic sank.
Jon Baddeley, marine collectibles expert at Bonhams & Butterfields auction house, said the watch has been stopped ever since.
A message engraved on the back read: "To my dearest Nora, your visit to county Limerick warmed my heart. God bless and be with you on your return to Pennsylvania." It was signed: "Loving mother."
No other information was available about Ms Keane. The items belonged to a British private collector and both buyer and seller wished to remain anonymous.
The auction raised a total of more than $150,000 and included the only known example of a third-class menu, dated April 14th, 1912.
The card featured a picture of the Titanic and the entire day's menu, which included roast beef and gravy for dinner and stewed figs and rice for tea. It sold for $44,650. - (PA)