A Titanic story you’ve never heard

From the Titanic museum in Cobh, Ireland. Photo by David Lansing.

A Letter from Ireland:

Tomorrow, April 15th, is the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. It’s impossible not to be familiar with the story at this point. But there are other stories about the Titanic that you’re probably not familiar with. And I’ve got a good one for you.

Last summer I was in Cobh, Ireland, which was the final embarkation point before she headed out in to the North Atlantic Ocean and her fateful rendezvous with an iceberg, and I learned the incredible story of Father Frank Browne, a Jesuit priest from Cork who was not only on the ship when she set sail from Southampton, but should have been on it when she sank.

What’s more, it was Father Browne who took the last photos of the ship, while on board, before she headed out to sea. And then the photos were lost, or forgotten, for 25 years.

If you’d like to read about Father Browne’s incredible story of what happened to him on the Titanic (and why he wasn’t on the fateful voyage once she left Ireland), and see some of his photos of the ship, take a look at my blog entry from Ireland.