Mary Delaney, 34, was from Shannow, County Cavan, Ireland. She had been living in Hartford, Connecticut, United States since 1904 when she immigrated aboard the White Star Liner Oceanic. She survived the Lusitania sinking.
Mary stated in a story to the Daily Express that there had been no panic aboard the ship when the torpedo struck the ship, and passengers made for the lifeboats in an orderly manner. She recalled that the officers told them that there was no danger and that the ship could reach the shore. Because of this news, she stepped out of a lifeboat in which she had got a place and back onto the deck. She believed that a second torpedo struck the ship soon thereafter, and she and many others made for the lifeboats. Mary entered a lifeboat that upset and threw her into the water.
Mary lost consciousness in the water but later found herself aboard a trawler. She met the man who saved her life later in Queenstown, and he related how she came up the side of his lifeboat and clutched onto the side before he pulled her in. She had no recollection of the event.
Mary spoke glowingly of the treatment she received in Queenstown, saying that the guests in the hotels stayed up all night and gave up their beds to attend to the Lusitania survivors.
Contributors:
Senan Molony
References:
Daily Express, 11 May 1915, pg. 6.
Molony, Senan. Lusitania: An Irish Tragedy, pgs. 29-30. Mercier Press, 2004.
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