Memorial in Dún Laoghaire honours 570 victims of RMS Leinster sinking 108 years after tragedy
The names of the 570 people known to have died when the RMS Leinster sank off the coast of Dún Laoghaire have been added to a new memorial on the town’s waterfront.
The memorial at the RMS Leinster anchor was dedicated to mark the 108th anniversary of the disaster, described as “the greatest ever loss of life in the Irish Sea”.
On October 10, 1918, the RMS Leinster was torpedoed and sunk shortly after leaving Dún Laoghaire, then known as Kingstown, for Holyhead in Wales in the final weeks of the First World War.
Unveiling Memorial to the RMS Leinster. Picture by Shane O'Neill, Coalesce.
Those killed came from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, the Channel Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and Lithuania.
“This memorial is the result of many people’s efforts over the years to ensure that the tragedy of the RMS Leinster is not forgotten,” An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Cllr Barry Saul, said.
“It is the latest step in a collaboration of remembrance, following on from the recovery of the anchor in 1991, the major events to mark the centenary in 2018, the films, books and digital resources now available and, most importantly, the memories of the descendants and relatives of the people who lost their lives on that terrible day.”
The unveiling of the memorial by An Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Barry Saul and Honorary Chairperson of the RMS Leinster Memorial Committee, Richard Cruise
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council chief executive Frank Curran said the memorial would join other tributes along the town’s waterfront to people who lost their lives at sea.
“This listing of the names of those who died when the RMS Leinster sank joins a number of memorials along Dún Laoghaire’s waterfront remembering those who died at sea,” he said.
“These form an important part of the public realm of Dún Laoghaire and ensure that we make space in the modern world to remember the people and events of the past.”
The project was supported by the council’s Civic Memorials Committee, the RMS Leinster Memorial Committee and the Maritime Institute of Ireland, with funding from the Heritage Council of Ireland and the Department of Culture, Community and Sport.