Cobh Lecture to discover Cork Harbour Shipwrecks

The fascinating details of diving expeditions to three shipwrecks that
lie in close proximity to Cork Harbour will be recounted in Cobh on
Sunday 12th May at 3.30 pm.
Cobh Tourism Ltd. is delighted that scuba divers Eoin McGarry and
Timmy Carey will present a free audio-visual lecture in the Commodore
Hotel that will show footage of dives to the Lusitania, Aud and German
submarine UC-42.
Eoin McGarry led the team that recovered the anchors of the gun
running ship Aud in June 2012. In 1916 after it was captured by a
British Naval flotilla, the Aud was scuttled by her crew at the
entrance to Cork Harbour, not far from the Daunt Rock. The Aud anchors
recovery expedition was licensed by the State and once the anchors
have been conserved, one of them will be displayed in Cobh and the
other in Fenit. The conservation process will take approximately two
years and the anchors will be ready to be shown to the public in time
for the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
The wreck of the mine laying submarine UC-42 that sank in 1917 was
rediscovered in 2010 just outside Roches Point by a team of five
divers. The dive team subsequently laid a plaque of remembrance near
the propeller as a memorial to the 27 German submariners who died when
the vessel sank as a result of one of its own mines exploding.
In August 2011 items were recovered under licence from the wreck of
the Lusitania that lies in 93 meters/300ft of water eleven and a half
miles off the Old Head of Kinsale. The items recovered were the bridge
telemotor, a bridge tell tale indicator, 2 large square window type
portholes with detailed filigris and 2 round type portholes. The
footage and photographs will provide a rare insight into the
complexities of diving to the wreck and the condition of the once
magnificent vessel. One of the recovered portholes will be on display
in Cobh as a part of the lecture and is sure to be the star attraction
of what promises to be a fascinating and educational afternoon.