Daisy Minahan

[Edmund Turner]

Do photographs of Daisy exist ?? as I've never seen any, also did she ever make a compensation claim for any lost luggage or jewelery she lost on the Titanic? was she particularly close to her sister-in-law Lillian who she was travelling with? Did she ever write an account of her escape from the ship ?? also is it accurate and true to say that here experiences on the Titanic contributed to her early death? any help with these questions is appreciated, for some reason I've always had a keen intrest in her
Edmund

 

[Mike Herbold]

Senan Molony's "The Irish Aboard the Titanic" has a small picture of her on page 243. Seems to me there were some in an old Commutator article also.

 

[Inger Sheil]

Hallo, Edmund

Mike's right - there's quite a lovely photo of her in Sen's book, also a good deal of interesting information on the Minahan family.

Daisy did indeed swear an affidavit at the American Inquiry, and if you follow the links on to the Inquiry website online you can read it in its entirety.

I don't know if her experiences contributed to her early death, but the experience was certainly a traumatic one with profound effect on her.

Inger

 

[Edmund Turner]

Thank you Inger and Mike for your help
Edmund

 

[Mike Herbold]

Better late than never. See "The Titanic Commutator", v. 14, #3, Fall 1990. Don Lynch's Passenger Manifest talks a bit about the Minahan family, and has a nice big picture of Dr. Minahan and Lillian.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Was Daisy Minahan interviewed by any major media outlet about her Titanic experience? I am particularly interested in her statement that when she left the dinner table of the a la carte restaurant with her brother and sister-in-law at around 09:45 pm on Sunday 14th April 1912, she saw Captain Smith still sitting at the Widener's party table.

That statement is independently supported by Maybelle Thorne, who was also dining at the restaurant that night. She claimed that the Captain left the dinner table at around 10 pm.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

A newspaper account by Mrs. Lillian Minahan, Daisy’s sister-in-law, that Titanic researcher Daniel Klistorner uncovered had said that Lillian Minahan briefly mentions the dinner at the restaurant and people in the reception room playing cards and listening to music. She also mentioned that she, her husband and sister-in-law Daisy retired early.

“It was about 9.30 when I got into bed and I know I had been sleeping soundly for two hours or more when both the doctor and myself were awakened by frantic cries outside our door.”

Obviously you cannot leave the restaurant at 9:45 as Daisy claimed and be in bed by 9:30 the same night.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Thanks Sam. But in Paul Lee's article, he has mentioned about 9:45 pm and the Minahans, as well as Maybelle Thorne's separate report that Smith left the table at around 10 pm.

What I am trying to determine is whether after his visit to the Bridge at 8:55 pm to see Lightoller, Captain Smith could have returned to the party table unbeknown to the former? Yes, I am aware that Boxhall saw Smith with Lightoller "at around 9 pm" when the Fourth Officer briefly emerged from the chart room but that does not confirm Lightoller claim that the Captain remained on the bridge for 25 minutes. Could it have been much shorter, say 8 to 10 minutes. in which case, no one at the party table would have taken particular notice if Smith went back there.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

Be careful what people claim about times of certain events weeks after an event took place. One thing is for sure, Smith could not have left the dinner party first at 10, or for that matter 9:45 as Daisy Minihan had claimed, and meet Lightoller on the bridge shortly after. By 10, if not a few minutes before, Murdoch had come onto the bridge and the two of them would have remained there for about 10 minute so that Murdoch could get his eyes adjusted to the dark. Also, ask yourself why Smith would leave the dinner party, say at 8:45, to check with his OOW, and then go back to the party after telling Lightoller that he would be right inside, especially knowing that they were approaching ice with possible advection fog ahead?