On 14th April 2013, the 101st anniversary of the day on which the Titanic struck an iceberg, the people of Cobh will gather for a ceremony to remember all of those who died when the ship sank. Cobh Tourism Ltd. is organising this ceremony as it has done for over ten years in her last port of call. One hundred and twenty three passengers boarded the Titanic in Queenstown on 11th April 1912. Three days later the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank with the loss of over 1500 lives, including 79 of those who boarded in Cobh.
However over thirty nationalities sailed on the Titanic and a special invitation is extended to people from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Holland, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay, USA and Wales to travel to Cobh and remember their countrymen and all those lost on that fateful maiden voyage
The ceremony will start at 3 pm at the Old Town Hall at Lynch’s Quay when a Colour Party from the Cobh Branch O.N.E. will parade to the Titanic Memorial. The ceremony of prayers and wreath laying will have musical honours provided by the Commodore Male Voice Choir and Cobh Confraternity Band. The proceedings will then move to the waterfront Promenade. Seventy nine white roses will be placed in the sea in memory of the “Cobh” passengers. School children representing the thirty other nationalities will also place floral tributes in the sea, followed by the Mayor of Cobh placing a wreath in the sea by in honour of all those who lost their lives when the Titanic sank.
The ceremonies will conclude with a bugler playing the Last Post and Reveille. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.
Many other events will take place in the first two weeks of April 2013. Visit http://projectcobh.com/ for more details.
