A St. Patrick's Day Tribute to the RMS Titanic's Irish Passengers

by Terri Bey

I would like to wish everyone reading this blog a Happy St. Patrick's Day. This is a traditional Irish day of celebration in honor of St. Patrick. I hope everyone has something green on. I realize that the current circumstances have once again canceled many St. Patrick Day parades, but hopefully, 2022 will be the year they return and I hope that today will be celebrated somehow.

As today is St. Patrick's Day, I have decided to write a brief blog about the Irish who traveled on the Titanic in hopes of a better life in the New World. Ireland had suffered through the Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, which began in 1845 and lasted until about 1852. The famine, caused by a fungus, killed about one million Irish, due to starvation, as one-half of the crop of potatoes were ruined the first year and over the following years, three-quarters of the remaining crops were destroyed.

The effect of the Famine cause many in Ireland to leave their home country. Even decades after the Famine, people in Ireland were still leaving because of lack of work, etc. These folks left Ireland on various ships, including the Titanic, for a better life in the New World. As most were very poor, they sold most of what they had and took what they needed, and traveled in Steerage or Third Class. Ship Companies like the White Star Line made most of their money from Steerage Class. Many of these passengers boarded RMS Titanic at Queenstown, Ireland, now Cobh.

The most notable Irish passengers on the RMS Titanic are known as the Addergoogle 14. This is a group of 14 people from the Addergoole parish from a village called Lahardane in Mayo County, Ireland. All 14 boarded the Titanic at Queenstown and traveled in Third Class. Of the 14 who sailed, only 3 survived. Addergoole parish sadly suffered the largest proportionate loss in all of the localities when the Titanic sank. It is really hard to imagine losing 11 people from one place.

There is a memorial in Addergoole as well as a plaque in St. Patrick's Church in Lahardane to honor the Addergoogle 14.

The following is a wonderful documentary about the Addergoole 14. I highly recommend it.

I can't imagine what it was for those people, as well as that parish, once they received the horrible news. It had to have been unimaginable.

I dedicate this St. Patrick's Day blog to the Addergoole 14 and to all the Irish Passengers who sailed on that fateful voyage.

Feedback: Alydace@yahoo.com

Why I Support Salvaging of the Wreck of the RMS Titanic

by Terri Bey

I would like to start this blog by introducing myself. My name is Terri Bey, from Lexington, KY. I am originally from Edison, NY. I have been a Titanic Enthusiast since about 6 or 7 years old. I was introduced to the RMS Titanic by my father who was born in May of 1904. He would tell me the stories of the disaster repeatedly. Yes, he and my mother, who was 15 years younger had me late in life. Anyway, I read the Walter Lord penned book, "A Night to Remember" (1955) and saw the film based upon the same book and I was hooked for life. I am currently one of several Admins for the Titanic Book Club and I write blogs for the Titanic Book Club Website. I will aim to write a blog on Sundays and Wednesdays as April 10, 1912, the date the Titanic left Southampton, England for her maiden voyage fell on a Wednesday, and April 14, 1912, the fateful evening when the RMS Titanic collided with the iceberg, even though she technically went under on Monday, the 15th. I may even write an occasional blog on Monday. I would like to especially thank Titanic Club owner and main Admin Jill Carlier for giving me this opportunity to write for the website, as well as George Behe and the other Admins.

The subject of today's blog is the rather touchy issue of salvaging artifacts from the wreck of the Titanic. Ever since the discovery of the wreck by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a debate began whether to bring up artifacts from the wreck. There were many, including families of victims who were totally against it. The main reason for the objection is many of them felt that the wreck was a memorial to the 1496 passengers who perished in the disaster. Many felt that it was a gravesite to their loved ones as well. Nearly 109 years after the disaster, these arguments are used in opposition to salvage, especially in opposition to the now indefinitely delayed expedition to retrieve the wireless apparatus used by wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride that fateful night.

I, myself, was totally against any sort of salvage when the wreck was discovered. I thought the wreck was a gravesite and I thought the wreck was a memorial. As a lover of the ship itself, I felt she should have been left alone. I think she was the most beautiful man-made object ever built and I still think she is the most beautiful man-made object ever built, but that is a subject for another blog. My mindset was, "Please leave her alone and don't pick pieces of her and pick her apart." "She is torn up as she is and leave her alone." Looking back now, I realize how naive and close-minded I was.

Over the years, when artifacts, such as plates, clothes, and especially the "Big Piece," were being brought up and displayed, I was starting to soften my position on salvaging artifacts from the wreck. I was in awe of all the items being salvaged and I started to learn about the passengers from looking at the artifacts. I could learn how people lived back in those days. I remember when I went to Las Vegas in August of 2000 to see KISS, I went to the Titanic Museum in the Luxor and there were some artifacts. I don't remember exactly which artifacts they were, but I do remember also taking a photo in a green1912-style dress in front of a replica grand staircase. This was likely a temporary exhibition, but regardless, between this exhibition and from watching specials about the artifacts, I started to change my mind about salvaging from the wreck.

I have become a supporter of salvage because future generations can learn from the artifacts. There are artifacts that can teach lessons on how the person lived, such as a suitcase and its contents. There are artifacts that have been brought up that can show how a certain part of the ship operated like one of the ship's telegraphs. The "Big Piece" that is in the Luxor's Titanic Exhibition gives visitors an idea of how well the RMS Titanic was built. Opponents will say that people who want to study the ship can get the same information in a book. I don't agree. While you can learn about the Titanic, its passengers, etc., from books, and there are many great Titanic-related books out there, I don't think solely reading books make the subject of the Titanic come alive. I think that viewing the artifacts as well is a great addition to reading books. You can read about how all the rivets were heat-sealed into Titanic's hull, but if you see the "Big Piece" in Las Vegas you get an idea of how massive the Titanic was, rather than solely reading a book.

As the wreck disappears, salvaging valuable pieces, such as the wireless apparatus will become more difficult. I hope that the apparatus can be salvaged once this pandemic passes. I feel that there should be attempts to get as much from the wreck as possible, as there are two choices: salvation or destruction. The Titanic disaster must not be forgotten as it has many lessons from which modern-day society can learn, such as being aware of complacency and arrogance. We need to save as much from the wreck as possible for future generations.

Feedback: Terri Bey: Alydace@yahoo.com

WHY THE TITANIC ORCHESTRA IS THE GREATEST BAND EVER

by Terri Bey

As a former aspiring concert violinist and music lover, I have my personal tastes in music and musicians. Of course, one doesn't have to have to be a musician to have an opinion on music. That being said, I have participated in many spirited, but friendly debates over who the greatest classical composer is (Beethoven) or musical piece (Beethoven's 9th) or singer (Freddie Mercury) or whatever.

However, there have been huge debates and lists which concern the "greatest band ever." Some say The Beatles. Some will pick The Rolling Stones or The Who or even Led Zeppelin. I normally would have said Queen, but there is one band that I think is greater than all of these bands, and is the best band ever and they are the subject of this piece for the March 2020 edition of the Titanic Book Club Newsletter.

I am talking about the Titanic Orchestra.

The Titanic Orchestra was made up of eight musicians. The orchestra consisted of Wallace Henry Hartley (violin and bandleader), John “Jock” Law Hume (violin), Theodore Ronald Brailey (piano), Roger Marie Bricoux (cello), Georges Alexandre Krins (violin), Percy Cornelius Taylor (piano and cello), John Wesley Woodward (cello), and John Frederick Preston Clarke (bass violin). The orchestra was not employed by the White Star Line. The orchestra was contracted out by the Liverpool firm of C.W. & F.N. Black.

Before the fateful day, the band would be playing in quartets both in First Class and in Second Class. They would be playing various types of musical pieces from the Titanic Songbook, which contained over 300 songs. The orchestra played pieces such as Offenbach's "Barcarolle," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," by Irving Berlin, and many others. These musicians, who had never played together before the voyage, had to be top musicians and had to know every song and had to be able to play a song when requested by a passenger who would request a song by saying the corresponding number. In my view, this is greatness in and of itself.

On that fateful night, all eight members of the orchestra, led by Wallace Hartley, went into the First Class Lounge and starting playing to calm the passengers. As Titanic continued to sink, the band went out onto the boat deck and continued to play until the very end. The last song played by the band was "Nearer My God to Thee." Many Titanic historians have debated whether the last song played by the band was actually "Nearer My God to Thee," but for the purposes of this piece, I am going with "Nearer My God to Thee." As Hartley was a Methodist and said that if he were on a sinking ship, he'd play the "Propior Deo" or Methodist version of that particular hymn, I am going to go with that as well.

The Titanic Band is the greatest ever because they perform under the greatest kind of pressure that one can imagine. Here they were, entertaining First and Second Class passengers for the first few nights on the biggest and most luxurious passenger liner in the world which also was considered practically unsinkable and the unimaginable happens. Their beautiful ship has struck an iceberg and is sinking. Wallace Hartley was a bit hesitant to go on the Titanic as he had just gotten engaged to his girlfriend Maria Robinson. Right before he was about to leave aboard Titanic, John "Jock" Hume had discovered from his girlfriend Mary Costin that they were going to parents. The couple had planned to get married when Hume was to return. I can't imagine playing as the ship was sinking and Wallace Hartley realizing he will never get to marry Maria and John Hume would never get to see his unborn child, a daughter named Johnann.

These eight brave men realized they had a job to do. They knew they had to keep playing music so there would not be passengers panicking. Much of the music they played was upbeat, such as ragtime. These men did their duty and did it well, knowing they themselves could not be saved. By keeping the passengers calm, I think by keeping the passengers calm more lives were saved. It also was very brave and admirable of these eight men to keep on playing as the great liner was sinking deeper and deeper into the North Atlantic.

The most poignant act of the band was the playing of the hymn, "Nearer My God to Thee." right before the RMS Titanic got ready to take her final plunge. Hartley reportedly said, "Gentlemen, It has been a privilege playing with you tonight." He and the band started playing the famous hymn and played the "Propior Deo" version as he was a Methodist, as I said previously. As that had to have been comforting to the passengers, I can imagine it was comforting to the band as well.

As a former musician who could not even imagine what it was like being in the position of these men, I salute each and every one of them. Hence, they are the greatest band in the world.

Feedback to Terri: Alydace@yahoo.com