Titanic – ULearn English School

This week Irish television screens will be showing plenty of documentaries and films on the infamous Titanic story. The reason being that the famous ship was built and set sail from Irish shores. Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast city, the RMS Titanic started it’s voyage in Southampton, England. It’s story will never be forgotten.

After hitting an iceberg on the 14th April 1924, the Titanic sank with all 2,224 passengers on board. Only 710 survived. Many of the passengers were Irish as the ship had also stopped to pick up passengers in Cobh, Co. Cork. These Irish passengers were emigrants who were starting new lives in America and Canada. Most of the Irish were poorer that the rest of the passengers and so were staying in the lower deck of the ship. This week, a special commemoration was held in Cobh to remember those who died on the ship, with President Michael D Higgins leading the ceremony.

The builders of the ship, Harland and Wolff, is a very successful industrial company still to this day in Belfast. In fact, it’s work yard is almost a landmark of Belfast city as you can see in the picture. At the time, Ireland was an extremely poor country and many Irish victims perished as they were stuck in the lower decks. Of course, there were not  enough lifeboats on the boat either. The Irish are portrayed in James Cameron‘s take on the disaster through the character Jack, played by Leonardo di Caprio. His Irish accent, like many Hollywood accents, leaves a lot to be desired. Enjoy this scene!