Ireland will be at the epicenter of the Titanic commemorations set for 2012, the 100th anniversary of the loss of the massive ocean liner.

Central to the commemoration will be the Cork town of Cobh, then Queenstown, where the stricken liner last left land. 

Of the 113 Irish people who boarded at Cobh, 79 were lost. 1,517 were killed overall a few days later when the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

International talks between the U.S., England France Scotland and Ireland North and South to make the 2012 anniversary a multilateral one, and the centenary celebrations may also prove to be a serious tourism money-spinner.

Cobh, Belfast, Southampton, Cherbourg, Halifax and New York will all coordinate a special series of events.

Belfast has built the 'Titanic Quarter’ close by the old Harland & Wolfe dockyards where the ship was built and will have a special museum dedicated to the liner.

Every April, a special Titanic parade takes place in Cobh. The 2012 one is expected to be a massive event.