Cobh to host ceremonies of remembrance on anniversary of Titanic Sinking

Members of the public are invited to Cobh on Sunday 14th April 2019 for a ceremony to mark the 107th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy. The town of Cobh is famed as the last port of call of the Titanic and continues to remember all those who died when the ship sank, in particular the passengers who boarded the ill-fated ship from Queenstown as the town of Cobh was then known.

The ceremony, an annual event organised by Cobh Tourism, will start at 2.30pm with proceedings getting underway at the Titanic Memorial Garden, which is located at the east end of the Cobh waterfront. This location is especially poignant as it overlooks the final anchorage of the Titanic, providing a fitting backdrop as prayers and a wreath laying ceremony take place, with musical honours provided by the Commodore Male Voice Choir. A wreath will be laid by the Chairperson of Cobh Tourism, Jack Walsh, at the Glass Memorial wall which bears the names of the 123 Queenstown passengers.

Immediately afterwards (approx. 3.15pm) a Colour Party from the Cobh Branch O.N.E. will parade from the Old Town Hall at Lynch’s Quay to the Titanic Memorial in Pearse Square. Here the names of the 79 passengers who boarded the Titanic in Cobh on 11th April 1912 and who perished in freezing waters of the North Atlantic less than four days later will be read out. Wreaths will then be placed at the Titanic Memorial in memory all those lost in the tragedy. The remembrance will conclude with Cobh Confraternity Band’s rendition of the Last Post and Reveille, which will ring out into Cork Harbour.

Speaking ahead of the commemorative ceremony, chairperson of Cobh Tourism Jack Walsh said “Cobh is a beautiful, scenic town with a rich maritime history and the Titanic story has become deeply engrained in our local identity. Those who departed from Titanic’s last port of call did so with trepidation, excitement and in hope of a new life in America. The tragedy that unfolded on that maiden voyage is something that we are committed to paying tribute to, with an overarching emphasis on remembering above all else the tragic loss of life for many of those onboard.”

The commemoration events coincide with the Cobh Readers and Writers Festival weekend. Highlights include The East Cork Cinema Club showing of ‘Juno’ in the Commodore Hotel on Thursday 11th April at 8pm, a 2007 American independent coming of age teen comedy film, and The Sirius Arts Centre comedy show with the wonderful gagmeister Michael Mee, who will present ‘The World According to Michael Mee’ at 8pm on Friday 12th April. A number of short story and poetry competitions will also take place over the weekend.

For more see www.visitcobh.com