Lusitania centenary commemorations will commence in Courtmacsherry County Cork over the May bank holiday weekend with a number of events recalling those who lost their lives on May 7 1915.
The old British Royal Navy Watch Tower in Courtmacsherry Bay is the closest point to the Lusitania wreck, and also home to one of the oldest RNLI Lifeboat Stations in Ireland. This particular lifeboat and its crew were key players in the aftermath of the disaster in which 1,198 passengers and crew lost their lives.
Minister Simon Coveney TD will open the centenary weekend on Friday May 1. The main event will be a pageant at Blind Strand in Courtmacsherry on Sunday May 3 at 11.00am, detailing the Lusitania’s passage from Liverpool to New York, and the fatal torpedo launched by a German U-boat off the coast of Cork.
There will be a re-enactment of the lifeboat’s row out to the Lusitania wreck site.
Many of those performing in the pageant are direct descendants of the 1915 Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat crew, including brothers Brian and Micheal O Donovan who will share the coxswain duties for the row.
The O’Donovan’s are direct descendants of the 1915 Coxswain, Tim Keohane, who was father of the Arctic explorer Patrick Keohane.
Courtmacsherry is one of four coastal communities in Co. Cork that are commemorating the Lusitania centenary with a number of events, entitled Lusitania100 Cork, in association with Cork County Council.
For more on Lusitania100 Cork and for a full schedule of events in Cobh, Kinsale, Old Head and Courtmacsherry visit www.visitcorkcounty.com
