On 25 January 1917 the HMS Laurentic hit a German mine in Lough Swilly, Co Donegal and sank with the loss of 354 lives.
The armed merchant cruiser had been en route to Canada with 43 tonnes of gold on board.
121 men survived the sinking and on 27 January 1917 they were treated to lunch by the Mayor of Derry in the Guildhall, where they were each given a ten shilling note and a packet of cigarettes.
Today, marking the centenary of that event, a lunch was held in the same room in the Guildhall.
Among the guests were a number of descendants of men who died or who survived the sinking.
Christine Pfaff travelled from England, her grandfather Harry Dyer drowned, leaving a young widow and three children.
Most of the gold bullion was recovered in a salvage operation in the years after the tragedy but the man who has owned the wreck since 1969, Ray Cossum, says he believes that 22 gold bars are still at the bottom of the sea.
A number of other events commemorating the centenary will be held over the weekend in Fahan, Co Donegal, where some of those who died are buried.
Victims of the sinking of the merchant cruiser 'Laurentic' remembered 100 years on pic.twitter.com/K4ilYnOufA
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 27, 2017
