Memorial sought for Irish Titanic victims

By Fiona Cooney

RMS Titanic

Steerage passengers on the deck of RMS Titanic

In 1912, fourteen locals of Addergoole parish set off for Cobh, Co. Cork to begin their journeys to new and exciting lives. The old friends, cousins, siblings and spouses -- all from the small parish of Addergoole, Co. Mayo -- were leaving the Emerald Isle on April 12 for the New World, full of high hopes and expectations. Unfortunately, their journey was not to end on the positive note it began. The Connaught natives were of the many Irish men, women and children on board the “unsinkable” Titanic. Which as we all know, whether from our historic knowledge or from our love of Leonardo DiCaprio, sank at 2.20 a.m. on the April 15, 1912.

The famous ship was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland and, as a result of the arrogant belief, or some say over-confidence, in the strength of the ship, there were not enough lifeboats on board for the number of passengers and crew members sailing to New York that day. In fact, there were not enough for nearly half the amount of people on board as a result of out-of-date regulations which were not equipped to deal with a cruise liner the size of the Titanic.

The sinking of the Titanic has been remembered as one of the biggest catastrophes to ever happen at sea, and for the people of Addergoole it was a terrible loss to the local community that will never be forgotten. The Addergoole Titanic Society is working diligently to ensure that the names of the three survivors and eleven natives lost at sea will be remembered and honored for generations to come.

Fateful decisions

The fourteen Addergoole passengers of the luxurious cruise liner grew up all but a stone's throw away from each other and consisted of relatives and friends. John Burke, aged 42 of Carrowskeheen, was moving to Chicago to live with his sister-in-law of little over one year. His new wife Catherine had returned to Addergoole in 1910 for a visit from the Windy City where she had been living for the past five years. The couple sold everything so they could move to Chicago and make a new life. Mary Burke was the sister of John and she was also making the move to Chicago. On that fateful night, Mary and Catherine could have been rescued on lifeboat 16, but would not leave without their beloved brother and husband John.

Honora ‘Nora’ Fleming, also of Carrowskeheen, had her passage bought for her by her sister who was living in New York. On the night the Titanic went down, Nora was to celebrate her 24th birthday. Nora’s body was never found. Mary Managan, another native of Carrowskeheen aged 32, had returned from Chicago to help nurse her sick mother and to announce her engagement; on her return she was to marry her loving finance in Chicago, Illinois. Her body was recovered on the 22 of April 1912, and was buried at sea. All five of these Carrowskeheen locals’ lives were lost to the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Catherine McGowan, 42, was the cousin of Catherine Burke. She was returning to Chicago were she had lived for some years and was was bringing her niece Annie McGowan with her. At the age of 17, Annie was the youngest of the Addergoole fourteen and one of the three survivors. It is thought that Catherine McGowan gathered the Addergoole fourteen together and that perhaps she may have acted as a financier of the trip.

There were two Delia’s amongst the dead, Delia Mahon and Delia MacDermot. The younger of the two, Delia Mahon, aged 20 of Knockfarnaught, did not survive the dreadful night. Delia MacDermot, 31, was approached by a strange man prior to leaving Lahardane for her journey to Cork. He told her there would be a terrible accident but that she would survive. The man turned out to be correct, and Delia went on to live to the age of 65 and is now buried in Jersey City.

There were four cousins on board the Titanic that night and out of those four family members only one survived. James Flynn, 28; Annie Kate Kelly, 20; Pat Canavan, 21; and Mary Canavan hailed from four different areas of the parish. Survivors spoke of the bravery that James of Culinakillaw and Pat of Knockmaria showed: they put the fate of the women and children of steerage before their own and helped them onto the upper deck so that they would have a chance of survival.

Mary of Tonacrick was wrongly listed as Mary Concannon on the list of the dead, leading her family to believe that she had survived but grievously she was never to see them again. The same mistake raised the hopes of Bridget Donohoe's family. Bridget, aged 20, had promised to send a ring to a friend’s daughter; however, she never reached her destination to send such a gift.

The final cousin Annie, or Anna Kate Kelly, survived and at the age of 29 she became Sister Patrick Joseph. She went on to become a much loved teacher and died at the age of 77. She believed that she would not have survived the disaster if it had not been for Mrs. Catherine Burke.

“I should not have survived except for Mrs. Burke’s refusal to leave her husband,” she said.

A parish in mourning

When the news of the disaster reached Addergoole, the people of the parish were shocked and saddened by the terribl