Margaret McClintock, 31, was originally from Mountpottinger, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland. She had been living in New York City, New York, United States for three years before returning to Ireland to see her sister at 3, George’s Terrace, Castlereagh Street, Belfast. Margaret survived the Lusitania sinking.
Margaret was at lunch when the torpedo struck. She heard a terrific noise and was thrown from her seat. She immediately realized that the Lusitania had been torpedoed.
Margaret, with Catherine Gilhooly, went to the starboard side to get into a boat. They saw the boats upset as they were lowered, throwing many people into the water. The women were advised to go to the port side*, which they did with some difficulty, as the ship was listing to starboard.
Margaret recalled that the boat was lowered with over 60 people aboard. According to Catherine Gilhooly’s account, the boat “got clear just in time, thanks to the plucky work of a pantryman, who pushed them off with an oar.”
The lifeboat was picked up by a fishing smack (Wanderer of Peel?) then transferred to a government boat (Stormcock?) and landed in Queenstown at about 9:30 p.m. that evening.
* Many port side lifeboats were not lowered, upset, or not lowered properly, with the exception of boat #2. Therefore, Catherine and Margaret would have been in this boat or a starboard boat.
Contributors:
Senan Molony
References:
Molony, Senan. Lusitania: An Irish Tragedy, pg. 49-50. Mercier Press, 2004.
You must log in to post a comment.