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The Cork Examiner, 13th April, 1912
(Courtesy: Tad Fitch, USA)
Mr Eugene Patrick Daly, 29, from Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, was travelling
to New York City. He boarded the Titanic at Queenstown (ticket number 382651,
£7, 15s).
Daly played "Erin's Lament" on his uilleann (elbow) pipes (a traditional Irish
instrument) for his fellow steerage passengers, as the Titanic steamed
away from Queenstown, bound for the new world. He would later file a claim for
$50 for their loss. Similar pipes, possibly Daly's, were recently salvaged from
the wreck.
During the voyage he took care of Maggie Daly
and Bertha Mulvihill, both also from Athlone.
After the collision Daly helped the two women to the boat
deck and to board lifeboat 15.
Daly's description of subsequnet events made for sensational headlines in newspapers
hungry for dramatic accounts of the sinking.
...an officer pointed a revolver and said if any man
tried to get in he would shoot him on the spot. I saw the officer shot two
men dead because they tried to get into the boat. Afterwards there was another
shot, and I saw the officer himself lying on the deck. They told me he shot
himself, but I did not see him.
Daly claimed to have leapt overboard, and to have reached and clung to "an
upturned collapsible raft," probably Collapsible
B.
In later years he said that only the thickness of his overcoat kept him alive
in the freezing water and that whenever he travelled he took this lucky coat
with him (1).
Daly arrived penniless in New York as he described in an article for
the Evening World (see articles). The article also described the experience
of able bodied seaman Robert Hopkins.
He testified before the limitation of liability hearings in 1915 (see articles).
Eugene Daly, made several trips back to Ireland to visit relatives. He died
on 31 October, 1965 and is buried in am unmarked grave at St. Raymond's Cemetery
in the Bronx.
Documents
Letter to Dr. Frank
Blackmarr
Limitation of Liability Hearings: Claim
Form
Articles
Evening World, 22nd April, 1912, Two
Survivors Call on Mayor to Ask Relief
Daily Sketch, 4th May, 1912, Man
Who Was Pulled Back
New York Times. 26th June, 1915, Says
Ismay Ruled in Titanic's Boats
East Galway Democrat, 11th May, 1912
Sources
Southern Star, Skibbereen, Co. Cork, February 7, 1998
Daily Telegraph, 4th May, 1912
Washington Post, 22nd April, 1912
Noel Ray (1999) List of Passengers who Boarded RMS Titanic at Queenstown,
April 11, 1912. The Irish Titanic Historical Society
Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York;
NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279])
References
Dave Bryceson (1997) The Titanic Disaster: As Reported in the British National
Press April-July 1912. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN-1-85260-579-0
John P. Eaton & Charles A. Haas (1994) Titanic: Triumph & Tragedy,
2nd ed. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1 85260 493 X
Don Lynch & Ken Marschall (1992) Titanic: An Illustrated
History. London, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0 340 56271 4
Acknowledgements
Peter Engberg-Karlström, Sweden
Michael A. Findlay, USA
Tad Fitch, USA
James T. Harper, USA
Leslie Mallory
Noel Ray, Ireland
Related Articles and Documents
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Titanic Passenger and Crew Summary
Name: Mr Eugene Patrick Daly
Born: Tuesday 23rd January 1883
Age: 29 years Last Residence: in Athlone Westmeath Ireland
Occupation: Farm Labourer 3rd Class Passengers First Embarked: Queenstown on Thursday 11th April 1912 Ticket No. 382651 , £7 15s Destination: New York City New York United States Rescued (boat B) Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912 Died: Saturday 30th October 1965 Travelling Companions
Miss Margaret Marcella "Maggie" Daly friend
Miss Bridget Elizabeth Mulvihill friend
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