New memorial proposed to remember the hundreds who died in the sinking of RMS Leinster

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors will be asked on Monday to support plans for a new memorial naming some 800 passengers on the RMS Leinster when it was sunk by a German U-boat, 24km (15 miles) from the town, just one month before the end of the first World War.

Cllr Justin Moylan (FF) will tell the members the sinking on October 10th, 1918 was the greatest loss of life in the Irish Sea and the highest death toll on an Irish-owned ship.

Mr Moylan, who acknowledged the work of local committees including the Friends of the Leinster, told The Irish Times there was some doubt about the exact number of people who died in the sinking, but best estimates put it at about 570, while the total number of passengers was in the order of 815.

Speaking in advance of the council motion at the weekend, Mr Moylan said the memorial should copper-fasten Dún Laoghaire Harbour’s important link with the town, and commemorate those who died before a generation forgets those who lived in the town and died in the ship.

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He said those who died included civilian postal sorters and many Irish, British, Australian, New Zealander, US, and Canadian soldiers, sailors and airman coming and going on leave from the many allied bases in Ireland at the time.

Mr Moylan compared the loss of the Leinster to the sinking of the Titanic, which he said is now forever associated with Belfast.

“This is the largest tragedy to ever happen in the Irish Sea and Dún Laoghaire is a maritime town with a rich history,” he said.

He said the anchor of the RMS Leinster had been recovered and is displayed at Queen’s Road where a commemoration was held on the centenary of the sinking of the Leinster, in October 2018.

[ Sinking of ‘RMS Leinster’ resulted in greatest ever loss of life in the Irish sea ]

But he said it was important to have a significant memorial of scale naming those who lost their lives in the disaster “before another generation moves on and the people are forgotten”.

An Irish Times report written by Philip Lecane, author of Women and Children of the RMS Leinste’ also carried a photograph of postal sorter James Joseph Blake, who died on the ship.

He was pictured with his wife Catherine. The couple were the great-grandparents of the actor Aidan Gillen.

Mr Moylan said it was these kind of associations between those who lost their lives and their families many of whom were still in the area, which he wanted the memorial to recognise.

The Royal Mail Ship Leinster was built in 1896 for the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, which had the contract to carry mail between Holyhead and Dún Laoghaire (then Kingstown).

On the morning of October 10th, 1918, RMS Leinster set out for Holyhead with a crew of 77 and 180 civilians. It also had some 21 postmen, under the direction of a Mr R Patterson, who sorted mail as the ship was moving. The ship was also transporting hundreds of military personnel, the true number of which has never been firmly established.

The German submarine policy had previously been to approach merchant shipping it was attacking, and give the passengers and crew an opportunity to take to the lifeboats before sinking the vessel. However, bitterness increased and the submarine UB123 fired two torpedoes at Leinster. One directly hit the postal sorting room. All but one of the staff were killed.

As passengers and crew scrambled of the lifeboats another torpedo struck the ship. RMS Leinster turned sideways and went down head first. From being struck by the first torpedo, it was just 12 minutes to when it sank.