Titanic Honors the Irish - Tribute to Miss Bertha Moran

Hello to ya'! I'm Bertha Bridget Moran, but they call me Bertha back home and at my job. I work at the Peabody Shirt Factory in Troy, New York, makin' those famous shirts for the Arrow Shirt Company.

To claim an inheritance, my brother, Daniel, had to return to our family home in Limerick, Ireland, and I went along for the ride. We sailed back to the States aboard Titanic. 'Twas grand to be on the very ship that was the talk and pride of Ireland where she was built. She was a Floatin' Palace!
We were shaken awake by the collision, and by the frightenin' reality that, as third-class passengers, it would be more of a challenge to exit the ship, especially since we'd never had a lifeboat drill.

There was an English priest from Essex who'd been servin' as a kind of chaplain for third-class passengers. He led us to where they were lowering lifeboats, but I never saw him after that, and my brother was nowhere in sight either. I was on my own, frozen with fight. Would the Luck o' the Irish get me through?

Find out Bertha's fate at the Titanic Museum Attraction, where we pay tribute to the Irish Passengers who sailed on the RMS Titanic over 100+ years ago.


May the Luck of the Irish Be With You!

Chief Purser
Erin Wicker

Titanic Honors the Irish - Tribute to Miss Bridget McDermott

Ever heard of St. Louis, Missouri? Well, that is where Miss Bridget McDermott was heading in April 1912, when she boarded Titanic. She came from County Mayo, Northern Ireland with a big dream of making a name for herself in America. She would encounter some interesting foreshadowing on her journey to board Titanic. You see, the night before she left on Titanic, she was traveling through Lahardane Village headed for Queenstown. It was dark, and a little man in a black suit tapped her on the shoulder. He somehow knew that she was going on a long journey, and he told her the following, "There will be a tragedy, but you will be saved." What? How did this man know where she was going or anything about her? Then, just as suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished.

She was apprehensive when she boarded Titanic as a 3rd class passenger. Of course, her instincts were right and tragedy struck - bringing her grand journey to an end in the middle of the Atlantic. The night of the sinking, a steward came to her room and told her to get dressed and head topside. The steward assured her that there was no danger, but when Bridget made it topside, she was immediately told to enter a lifeboat. She actually had to jump some 15' from a rope-ladder to get into a lifeboat.

Bridget reached New York on board the Carpathia. She made it safely to America and lived out her life there. When she died in 1959, she was buried in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City where 3 other Irish Titanic Survivors were also buried.


May the Luck of the Irish Be With You.

Chief Purser,

Erin Wicker

Titanic Honors the Irish - Tribute to Mr. Thomas Andrews

 It seems fitting today to tell you the story of a man born in Ireland in 1873 to a very "well to do" family. He and his siblings were successful from the beginning. His name was Thomas Andrews and he would become a hero on the Titanic.  Thomas Andrews lived with his family in Ardara, Comber. In 1884, he began attending the Royal Belfast Academical Institution until 1889 when, at the age of sixteen, he began a premium apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff where his uncle, the Viscount Pirrie, was part owner. (Ref. 1)

At Harland and Wolff, Mr. Andrews began working his way up the ranks. He was hired in the Joiners Shop, then became cabinetmaker, and finally worked 2 months on ships until he earned his spot in the drawing office as Manager of Construction Works. Here is where Thomas Andrews excelled in his career. He was able to help design the Olympic and its sister ship, the RMS Titanic. Unfortunately, his suggestions to have 46 lifeboats on the ship were overruled and created a bit of foreshadowing for the fate of the ship.

On April 10, 1912, Thomas Andrews boarded his creation along with the team who worked on the design and construction of Titanic. Of course they didn't want to miss the opportunity to ride in luxury on their own awesome creation.

"I feel like a proud father whose beautiful offspring is about to make a world-wide debut. As Harland & Wolff's managing director, I'm in charge of designing its ships. I helped create Titanic from keel to masthead, so I know every inch of her."

"Some call me the builder of the Ship of Dreams, but Titanic was never a dream to me. She was pure reality - a spectacular, man-made monument of iron and steel, invincible and vulnerable at the same time."

It was smooth sailing the first few days at sea. In fact, Mr. Andrews remarked that the ship was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her." What happened after that is why Titanic is such an important part of history today.

To learn more about Mr. Thomas Andrews, visit the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo or Pigeon Forge, Tn. where we tell the stories of the Irish passengers the entire Month of March and every day, in honor of their memories.

Ref. 1 - Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Andrews_%28shipbuilder%29





May the Luck of the Irish Be With You.

Chief Purser,
Erin Wicker

Titanic Honors the Irish - Tribute to Dr. William O'Loughlin

Born in Ireland, Dr. O’Loughlin was an orphan, however he was raised by his Uncle and studied at Trinity College in Dublin, after which he attended and earned his medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. At 21 he started his career as a medical professional at sea and would spend 40 years serving his majesty, his fellow crew members, and passengers. At 62, Dr. O’Loughlin was becoming a bit of a curmudgeon and grumbled about changing ships after the R.M.S. Olympic had its altercation with the H.M.S. Hawke, and had entertained the thought of retiring, but Captain Smith chided the good Dr., calling him lazy and appointed him ships surgeon of the R.M.S. Titanic.

" I hope you've had all the required medical papers, because I can't let you board Titanic without them. Oh, forgive me. I guess I'm so used to asking that question of third-class passengers that it's become a habit. I know White Star Line's 1912 boarding requirements don't apply to you. I'm Dr. William O'Loughlin, ship surgeon on Titanic. I'm a distinguished-looking fellow in a white uniform and handlebar mustache."

"After practicing medicine at sea for 40 years, I was about to hang up my shipboard shingle when Titanic's good Captain Smith convinced me I should take one last assignment with him. It was hard to say no to my old friend and to the chance of ending my career on the grandest ship ever build."

"Unhappily, I was wrong. On the night before the collision I had proposed a toast: 'Let us drink to the mighty Titanic.'"

"As the ship's doctor, would I be allowed into a lifeboat to help all the women and children?"

To learn more about Dr. O'Loughlin, visit the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo or Pigeon Forge, Tn. where we tell the stories of the Irish passengers the entire Month of March and every day in honor of their memories.

Other resources on Dr. O'Loughlin:

1. Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Heritage Centre Blog: http://rcpilibrary.blogspot.com/2012/04/william-francis-norman-oloughlin-irish.html

2. Encyclopedia Titanica - http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/william-francis-norman-oloughlin.html

May the Luck of the Irish Be With You.

Chief Purser,
Erin Wicker