Mayo village which lost 11 makes peace with Titanic tragedy – VIDEOS

Western Ireland village remembers locals who perished in the Titanic tragedy

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A re-enactment in Lahardane, Co Mayo, on Sunday commemorating local people who sailed for America on the Titanic.

Photo by Keith Heneghan

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A Mayo village remembered 11 locals who perished on board the Titanic during a ceremony on Tuesday.

Fourteen people, 11 of whom died, left the rural parish of Addergoole, Lahardane in Co. Mayo and set sail for America on the Titanic from Queenstown Cork on April 11, 2012.

Willie Cusack told CBS News that his cousin Catherine left the now ruined family farm house to head for a new life in America.

"It's like losing a big family, do you see?" said Willie. "Because they all knew one another,do you see? It wasn't just one family. This would be the whole area."

The locals in the area buried the pain of their loss for generations, according to Dr. Paul Nolan.

"Weeping and gnashing of the teeth, and wailing and mourning in the houses," said Nolan. "They were totally distraught and could do nothing all day but weep, weep, weep and mourn."

Dr Nolan became the driving force behind the Addergoole Titanic Society, which has now produced a memorial park and new stained glass windows in the town's church. The memorial pays tribute to Pat Canavan (21), who led steerage passengers up from where they had been trapped on the lower decks for a chance at survival.

Here's the CBS report:

Here's RTE News' coverage of the Addergoole Titanic Society:

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