Mr. Patrick Hanley

Patrick Hanley was an Irish national and British subject from Mountshannon, Lisnagry, County Limerick, Ireland. He was among the saved from the Lusitania sinking of 7 May 1915.

Hanley’s account to the Limerick Leader stated that at 2:10 on the afternoon of the sinking, when the ship was in sight of Ireland, he saw the submarine 700 t0 800 yards away from the ship fire the torpedo. He rushed back to his cabin and put on his lifebelt, and with some companions, jumped 50 feet into the water from the Lusitania’s port side.

Hanley could not swim, but his lifebelt kept him afloat. He floated on his back and used his hands to paddle away from the giant ship and flying wreckage from what he believed to be a second torpedo.

Hanley recounted the scene as pitiable, with screaming women and children in the water, and people killed by the fall into the water from the ship, floating on the calm sea. He drifted for over half an hour before he came to an overturned boat and climbed aboard. Hanley proceeded to help other men and women onto his boat, where they stayed for over two hours until a cutter from a torpedo boat rescued them.

Cunard officials took care of the survivors on his rescue vessel once they reached Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland. Hanley, among others, was placed in the Rob Roy Hotel. At the time of his interview, he admitted having trouble falling asleep after enduring the trauma of the sinking.

The lifebelt which saved him from the Lusitania became a prized possession of his.

On the passenger list, he appears as “Peter Hanley” and in the Limerick Leader as “Patrick Hanly,” but they are one and the same.

Contributors:
Peter Kelly, Ireland
Senan Molony, Ireland

References:
Limerick Leader, 10 May 1915, pg. 3.

Molony, Senan. Lusitania: An Irish Tragedy, pg 36. Mercier Press, 2004.

10 thoughts on “Mr. Patrick Hanley”

  1. Patrick Hanley was my Grandfather. In 1991, my mom, maiden name, Mary Hanley, gave my grandfather’s letters to the Lusitania Museum in Cobb. We went to visit the Lusitanis grave site. When we were children my grandfather used to tell us ” the ship story. ” I remember him being very troubled from watching the women and children die. I think he was 26 or 27 at the time of the sinking. When my mom was a little girl, she and her sister used to put on his Lusitania life vest and slide down their sliding pond playing ” abandon ship. “

    • Ronald, I’m your cousin – I’m Patricia’s youngest daughter so he’s my grandfather too. I’m not sure how to link to you but do you think we can email so I can get a picture of your mother and Eileen? I’d love to be able to show my daughters a picture of them. It’s a shame they didn’t keep in closer contact. My mother passed away in 2005.

      • Ronald I recall when I was about 12 in 1973 and had to give a family history in school that my father told him his cousin was a member of US army named Hanley who had survived the sinking of the Luisitsnia . My grandmothers maiden name was Hanley . We still live in the same village as your grandfather

  4. Hi All – this story is a wonderful piece of family information. Patrick Hanley was my Grandfather Joseph Houlihan’s first cousin so I’m a cousin of this group as well, though 2-3Xs removed. I have a bit of information about Patrick Hanley’s parents, Ellen Houlihan and Michael Hanley, and his maternal grandparents, William Houlihan and Mary (McGann) Houlihan of Limerick, Ireland. Would be happy to share this information with family members that are interested. jhou7835@yahoo.com. Cheers, Joe Houlihan

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