Addergoole Titanic Society
The Addergoole Titanic Society was first proposed in November 1999 with one particular focus at the time that was to research, investigate, develop and bring to prominence the story of the 14 individuals who left the parish of Addergoole and boarded the Titanic in April 1912. The Society was more formally developed in 2008 and then became a very effective organisation with a modest number of members who worked tirelessly over the years to bring the Addergoole 14 story to the world. Those were 14 people from our small parish who had dreams of a better life in America. They were all related or known to each other. They would have come from big families with very little money, surviving on small farm buildings, which left no choice but to emigrate. They travelled in steerage, but steerage to them would be the lap of luxury like they had never seen before.
The story itself had been forgotten with the passage of time and the society felt that it was very important to bring it back to prominence in its appropriate position with relevance to the story of the society and the theme of emigration from Ireland to America.
The society is based in Lahardane in the parish of Addergoole. Lahardane has the title of ‘Irelands Titanic Village’ due to the enormous loss of life from the area on board RMS Titanic. It continues to meet regularly to promote the story. The Society holds annual events such as the Annual Titanic Mass held in the Addergoole Titanic Memorial, Lahardane and a Bell Ringing Ceremony in the grounds of St. Patrick’ Church Lahardane, both of which are held in April each year. It also has fundraising initiatives, a Table Quiz held in December and a Church Gate Collection in June as well as proceeds from our book sales ‘The Addergoole Titanic Story’.
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Following the Addergoole 14 story being recognised worldwide with 15,000 people attending our centenary celebrations which included a Cultural Week and 5,000 attended the official opening of our Addergoole Titanic Memorial Park, we endeavour to keep Lahardane on the worldwide map. Tourism is a vital part of keeping the story alive, therefore we are committed to promoting this. Each year we have local, national and international tours visit the Memorial Park. Society members meet with them and present the Addergoole 14 story.
The Titanic
On Monday the 15th April the most famous ship of all times, the RMS Titanic, sank in the early hours of the morning in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, while en route to New York on her maiden voyage. Over 1500 people were drowned.
Our Connection
On Thursday 11th April, 1912 at Titanic’s final port of call, 113 steerage passengers boarded at Queenstown (Cobh) in Cork. Fourteen of those passengers were from Addergoole Parish, Lahardane, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Out of the fourteen, eleven drowned and three survived, when this huge ship sand, some 400 miles of the Great Banks of Newfoundland, having struck an iceberg. The fourteen passengers from Addergoole became fondly known, locally as the Addergoole 14. The Addergoole Titanic Society believes that the loss of those 11 lives represents the largest proportionate loss of life from any locality on RMS Titanic. This was truly, an extraordinary loss for our small parish.
The 11 who perished
John Bourke aged 42
his wife Catherine Bourke aged 32
and his sister Mary Bourke aged 40
Pat Canavan aged 21
Mary Canavan aged 22
Brigid Donohue aged 21
Nora Fleming aged 24
James Flynn aged 28
Delia Mahon aged 20
Mary Mangan aged 32
Catherine McGowan aged 42
Annie Kate Kelly aged 20
Delia McDermott aged 31
Annie McGowan aged 17
The 3 who survived
Commemorating the Addergoole 14
Plaque in St. Patrick’s Church
In April 2002 the Addergoole Titanic Society erected a plaque in St. Patrick’s Church, Lahardane with the names of the 14 and the townlands they came from. The plaque is placed in the exact same spot as the Baptismal Font was placed in the Church where all the Addergoole 14 were Baptised.
Bell Ringing Ceremony and Annual Mass
That same year was the start of our Annual Bell Ringing Ceremony. Following research and establishing contact with descendant relatives it became a more formal event with the addition of music, song and prayers. The descendant relatives ring the bell in the grounds of St. Patrick’s Church in commemoration of the Addergoole 14. It has continued each year up until 2019 on April 15th at the unearthly hour of 2.20am, the exact time of the sinking of the Titanic. More recently, post pandemic, the time was changed to 6.30pm to coinincide with our Annual Mass which we hold each year in the Addergoole Titanic Memorial Park, Lahardane.
Permanent Memorials
The society decided to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic by erecting permanent reminders of the Addergoole 14 which included the construction of a Memorial Park and installing two stained glass windows in St. Patrick’s Church.
Harry Clarke Stained Glass Windows
The stained glass windows have a Titanic theme and an Emigration theme. The Titanic Themed window was funded by descendant relatives of the three survivors and the Emigration themed window was funded by descendant relatives of the eleven who perished.
Addergoole Titanic Memorial Park
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The park features life size effigies of three women and one man dressed in the style of the early 1900’s representing the 8 women and 3 men who perished.
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The effigies are facing the park’s main focus, a 15ft high bronze ship’s bow symbolizing the Titanic.
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The park is complimented with a typical cottage fireplace and hearth. The hearth, at the time, would be the centrepiece of family life. It is made with stone from the actual ruined homes of the Addergoole 14, some of those ruins still exist throughout the Parish. The door entering what was known then as the room above came from James Flynn’s house, one of those who perished with the Titanic.
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Alongside the fireplace are information plaques listing the names of the Addergoole 14 and their home location.
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There is also a reproduction of a gable end with its crossbar window, as that would be the last thing each of the fourteen would have seen when leaving their home. A light shines from the window as a guided beacon for all emigrants upon returning home to the parish.
Former President, Mary Robinson was a resident in the locality at the time and she officially opened our Cultural Week, a week of events, prior to the official opening of the Memorial Park. The idea of the light on the crossbar window is based on Mary Robinson’s most famous light of Ireland that she placed on an upstairs in Aras an Uachtaráin (the President’s residents) to welcome back the diaspora. The light is built on an old tradition of placing a light in the window to guide the way for strangers in the night.
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