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Latest News and Events

TITANIC: THE STORY THAT NEVER DIES

Lecture by

Michael O’Brien

Thursday February 27 2025

at

8pm

in

Clonakilty GAA Club, Ahamilla

Entry

€5 at the door

 

Titanic, the legendary ship that sank on April 15th 1912  with the loss of 1500 lives, was the largest ocean liner of its time. Believed to be unsinkable, it was on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York when it hit an iceberg and sank within a few hours. What went wrong and why? Who made mistakes? Well-known local historian Michael O’Brien will delve into the heroes and villains of this infamous event, the myths dismissed, bad luck and good luck, some spooky facts and lessons learned. 

As a boy in Butlerstown in the 1950s watching the liners travelling between Cobh and America, Michael’s  interest was sparked. Reading the minute-by-minute account of the Titanic's final hours in Walter Lord's book ‘A night to remember’ in 1956 impressed him deeply.

 

Despite his interest in ships, Michael confesses to being the world's worst sailor, always getting sea-sick when he is at sea! 

Documentary: Historic Coastal Village of Timoleague

As part of Heritage Week 2022, Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage visited the historic coastal village of Timoleague which is situated at the mouth of the Argideen river estuary.  To take us back over the centuries our guides are Diarmuid Kingston and Michael O’Mahony.

Documentary: Three Local Stories

Produced as part of Heritage Week 2021, this documentary tells three stories. The first part is the history of Lisselane Estate and in particular two of its owners – the infamous landlord William Bence Jones and in more modern times, C. O. Stanley. The second section concentrates on Kilgarriffe old cemetery and some of the many important individuals and families interred there over the last three hundred years or so. The final section of the video highlights Ring Village and the nearby Ballintemple Graveyard, detailing the importance of Ring as a port and the 800-year history of the cemetery wherein lay the remains of Tadhg an Asna among other notable names.