Centenary Spawns "Titanic Industry" While Addergoole Remembers Her Loss

At precisely 2:20am on April 15th, a church bell is rung in the small County Mayo parish of Addergoole on the west coast of Ireland. For the past ten years, locals have gathered in the churchyard to remember the night that changed their small parish forever. 2:20am was the exact time that RMS Titanic, the largest, most technologically advanced steamship in the world sank after colliding with an iceberg. The Titanic took just two hours and forty minutes to sink. More than 1,500 lives were lost while 705 passengers managed to survive. The Addergoole parish was home to 14 passengers on the ill-fated ship and 11 perished that night in the icy mid-Atlantic. Now a century later, ancestors of the lost villagers and neighbors will commemorate the "Addergoole 14" in a series of poignant new events.

Around the world, the sinking of the Titanic has morphed into a profitable industry and the disastrous ship is as popular a topic as Jesus and the Civil War. The world's largest tourist attraction dedicated to the doomed liner opened its doors in Belfast this past weekend, and folks are advised to get advance tickets. The Titanic Belfast Museum is situated in the old Harland and Wolff shipyard where the famous ship was built. Replicas of the ship are touring around the world, museums are presenting special interactive exhibits and restaurants will serve "Titanic Dinners."

On this centennial anniversary, media makers are also hoping that that the public stays fascinated by a story that remains deeply eerie, theatrical and tragic. Over 200 novels have been published to date, countless television programs created, and several news presentations will debut this month expected to make millions for the creators. Here are a few of the specials.

Titanic director, James Cameron planned the release of the 3D version of his 1997 blockbuster film to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Cameron's epic 1997 film Titanic won 11 Oscars and grossed well over a billion dollars worldwide. The potential of the 3D version to be a mega hit is favorable. Meanwhile, the National Geographic Channel joined the director for the ultimate forensic investigation into the shipwreck in Titanic: The Final Word With James Cameron special. Cameron, who has made more than 30 dives to explore the Titanic, brings together a team of engineers, naval architects, and historians to try and solve the questions of why and how an "unsinkable" ship sank.

My former employer, PBS, will commemorate the anniversary of the Titanic disaster with several new programs premiering this month. Each program provides a different perspective on the disaster -- from historical drama to science to personal stories of the effect of the tragedy on the descendants. Saving the Titanic, from Tile Films in Dublin, is a historical drama that tells the untold story of the bravery of the ship's engineers, stokers and firemen in the face of impending death. Based on eyewitness accounts, the program follows the engineering crew who fought courageously to keep the power systems running so people could escape.

The Titanic With Len Goodman (of Dancing with the Stars fame) examines the impact of the sinking on the thousands of affected families. Later in April, Nova presents the premiere of Why Ships Sink which investigates the safety of cruise ships. Twenty million passengers embark on cruises each year, vacationing in deluxe "floating cities." The programs asked the question, "Are we really safe at sea -- or are we on the brink of a 21st-century Titanic?"

Meanwhile back in Addergoole, at 2:20am on April 15th, the parish bells will toll 11 times for the 11 souls lost at sea that night 100 years ago. The annual Titanic Mass will be followed by the official opening of the Addergoole Titanic Memorial Park. A highlight of the commemorations is sure to be the unveiling of two colorful stained glass windows for St Patrick's Church on the theme of emigration. A friend and Addergoole Titanic Committee member, Brian Nolan recently wrote on Facebook, "It is all coming together for the Addergoole Titanic Week... for us it's all about the passengers and the people, the ship was merely the vehicle." A week of festivities to remember the people on board is listed on their website at www.addergoole-titanic.com. Many events will unfold this month, some well-meaning, many looking to cash in on a disaster. One thing is certain -- the story of the Titanic and her passengers is eternal and timeless.

 

 

 

Comments

[al pambuena]

02:17 PM on 04/08/2012

i do not watch movies on the titanic, because i have read so many books, and actual accounts of the tragedy, since i was in high school, back in the early 60's. there also have been some great documentaries, by the brits, and some other private organizations, that i have seen, but watching a hollywood movie version, has never interested me.

[Catlady44]

02:58 AM on 04/14/2012

Then you are missing out on a GREAT film , by not watching James Camaron's '' Titanic '' ! It is truly one of the best films of all time ! You should go see it in 3D .

[loufalce]

10:38 AM on 04/08/2012

Rather than watch the kitschy 1997 De Caprio version, I`ll watch the British made "A Night to Remember". This is the real deal, the best film ever made on the subject.

[InventPeace]

09:51 AM on 04/08/2012

Perhaps most sad and tragic is that they people in the lifeboats, some of which were less than half full, did not have the courage or fortitude to go back and pick up frantic swimmers at least to fill the life boat.. they listened in mute silence until the over 1000 swimmers screams subsided, heart rending ! (now you know why combat vets don't like to talk about their war experiences, "why didn't we do more, whats wrong with us, life long guilt, etc ). In fact on that note: Heres a story: the top Japanese ace pilot of the war in the pacific (he went up against squadrons like the black sheep, etc), said AFTER the war, that " he would never kill anything ever again in his life, not even a mosquito"

[nebro]

02:49 PM on 04/08/2012

I've been told that a sinking ship of that magnitude will pull nearby objects down with it. If that's the case, the lives of the people already in the boats would have been risked. Remembering "women and children first", those with the courage to go back may have had to weigh the lives of the children already in the boats against the poor souls in the water.

[InventPeace]

08:16 AM on 04/12/2012

I would say you are right but only if you are within 60 ft of the ship going down, and that would be for someone who has no buoyancy too, the life boats had buoyancy, and were much further away and swimmer who were swimming toward them a safe distance from the ship were ignored and in fact some boats actually rowed even further away from the ship. FEAR and GOLD make people do strange things: IE 2 best friends go fishing, both end up drowned, how? ; its because one falls in or is pushed in as a joke, starts to drown, the friend dives in to help, then they end up in a death grip struggle for life, and both drown, its true, I and a friend rescued a man from drowning once, he tried to push us under (which would have killed us) so he could get just one breath of air, thankfully there were 2 of us to his 1 and we got him to shore safely (we were only 12-13 at the time. Things like this happen in war too where someone freezes with fear, others die, and the one carries the guilt for the rest of his life, psychologically damaged, which is why combat vets don't like to recall or talk about those war years much.

[InventPeace]

09:41 AM on 04/08/2012

DId you know that the 3rd and 4th class gangways (stair ways to the upper open deck and lifeboats) were LOCKED (chained shut by captains orders), recent video footage confirmed the chaines on the gates to the stairs going up , the effect was that the poor souls on the lower class levels never had even a chance to get to the surface ( I think only one or two of the gates were unchained finally at the last minute by a sailor who disobeyed the orders (out of perhaps up to 14 such gates; meain only a few dozen could escape at all as the water was already to high to go to another gate and there was no word that any gates were even unchained; they died horribly so the first class could survive).

[wildtill9]

11:39 AM on 04/08/2012

As my daddy always told me - " It doesn't pay to be poor"

[InventPeace]

08:19 AM on 04/12/2012

YES !! Society doesn' t like you when you are poor, but also if you do get even just a tiny bit ahead, now they are jealous..?? go figure.. a person can't win! Best answer go be a missionary , knowing you can't take gold with you , only your spirit survives and outlives your body. (thanks to jesus who pioneered the method, now we all may recieve the gift of eternal life).

[kame2comm]

08:35 AM on 04/08/2012

Wow I thought the tub sank in november of 1912 I learned all i need to know about it today it was in April Thanks I'll make sure my television is off this month

[Catlady44]

03:05 AM on 04/14/2012

What rock have you been hiding your head under all your life ???