Here in Northern Ireland, far behind the media coverage of
the life and death of the Queen Mother, was that given to
the commemorations of the 90th anniversary of the launch of
the famous and ill fated Titanic. Built by Harland and Wolff
at Belfast, a fact not always stated, the ship was recalled
with the help of the most enthusiastic Titanic Society in
all her glory, testimony to the talents and skills of designers,
draughtsmen and craftsmen. Using archive material in film
and the written and spoken word, the Titanic was made to live
again. Exhibitions, and tours around today’s yard with
its still recognisable sites, tell the Titanic story. It is
of a ship described as unsinkable which went down with a large
loss of life and tales of self-sacrifice and courage that
have remained to keep the Titanic story alive in the memory
and imagination of people here and throughout the world. The
ship has been the subject of films, plays, biographies and
novels. It may become a story that attracts many who want
to see where it all began and to hear of the people who produced
a ship renowned for the splendour of its accommodations, furnishings
and over all magnificence. It is a wonderful story but with
no happy ending. The Orange Institution has an interest in
the Titanic for many Orangemen worked on the ship. Indeed,
the Titanic holds memories for families in Belfast and everywhere
in Northern Ireland for fathers and grandfathers were shipyard
men employed on the Titanic. There must be people still around
who recall the Titanic story being told by lantern slides
and script-reader in church halls. It was always given a Christian
emphasis and used to encourage the audience to have faith
in God who cares for them whatever their circumstances and
in their calamities.
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