Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of the sinking of the RMS Leinstermailboat in Dún Laoghaire. In the past few days, in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, but particularly in the harbour town of Dún Laoghaire, there were many events to mark that tragedy. Tomorrow, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Josepha Madigan, will represent the Government at an event in Dún Laoghaire Harbour, which I am aware many people will attend.

I wish to share a few thoughts with Members. At approximately 9 a.m. on 10 October 1918, the RMS Leinsterleft the Carlisle Pier in Kingstown, as it was known then, now Dún Laoghaire, bound for Holyhead, in Anglesey, Wales. The ship was carrying 771 registered passengers and crew. Shortly before 10 a.m., approximately 16 miles from Kingstown, now Dún Laoghaire, the ship was attacked by two torpedoes. One missed it and the other hit the ship's port side. We now know from documented evidence that 560 people died in the sinking of the RMS Leinster. This made it the largest ever recorded loss of life in the Irish Sea and the highest ever casualty rate from an Irish-owned ship.

I ask the Leader, with the consent of the Members of Seanad Éireann, to consider observing a minute's silence tomorrow, 10 October 2018, to mark the centenary of that terrible tragedy in Dún Laoghaire Port. It is a matter for the Seanad, ultimately. I will be attending the State events tomorrow, as will a number of other people. It is an important tragic event but one we should mark out of respect for the people who lost their lives at sea.