Athenry News & Views Spring 2026

Athenry News & Views

Aboard The ‘Unsinkable’ By: Nicole Healy - 5th Class 2012

Introduction I chose to do my project on the Titanic because I am deeply interested in the story of this famous ship and I hope to discover new facts about the so-called “unsinkable” liner. My family has always had a strong connection to the Titanic, as my great-grand-aunt, Hanora (“Nora”) Healy, survived in Lifeboat 16. The Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, and was designed to compete with Cunard’s great liners Lusitania and Mauretania. Titanic, along with her Olympic-class sisters Olympic and Britannic (originally intended to be named Gigantic), was planned to be among the largest and most luxurious ships ever to sail. Building the Titanic RMS Titanic was built by Harland and Wolff, a shipyard whose reputation for producing major passenger liners was growing rapidly. The ship was commissioned by J. P. Morgan, the powerful figure behind the White Star Line, during an intense commercial rivalry with Britain’s Cunard Line for dominance of the Atlantic crossing. The idea of building a “super-ship” was born during a dinner in 1907 at the Belgravia mansion of Lord Pirrie, the head of Harland and Wolff. He and White Star’s managing director Bruce Ismay discussed Cunard’s modern Lusitania, which was about to compete for speed records and the prestigious Blue Riband. White Star’s response would not be to chase speed alone, but to create something bigger and more luxurious than anything afloat. It took two years to design and build the Titanic, and another year to complete the fit-out, at a cost of $7.5 million (often estimated as hundreds of millions in today’s money). Around 3,000 skilled workers were

involved in her construction. The Titanic was launched in Belfast on 31 May 1911. Huge crowds gathered to watch the event, with thousands paying for the best vantage points and hundreds of invited guests and dignitaries present. The following year was spent finishing the ship and Replica of the White Star Line ticket used by passengers boarding the Titanic at Queenstown (Cobh) Titanic completed her sea trials on 2 April 1912, passed the one-day tests, and sailed to Southampton, where she was handed over to the White Star Line. On 10 April 1912, she began her maiden voyage. Titanic left Southampton, stopped at Cherbourg in France to collect additional passengers, and then sailed to Queenstown (now Cobh), Co. Cork, arriving on the morning of 11 April. By early afternoon she had taken on her final passengers and headed out into the Atlantic with 1,317 passengers aboard (with crew bringing the overall total higher). preparing her for sea trials. Sea Trials and Departure

Passengers waiting at the Pier in Queenstown (Cobh) before boarding the Titanic. First Class passengers only were allowed upstairs - Andy Keane and Nora Healy would be in the crowd.

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