Patrick Moran, a fireman who served on the last voyage of the Lusitania was an Irish national and British subject who survived the Lusitania sinking. He resided at Errew, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
Patrick Moran was in his bunk when he heard the dull thud of the torpedo striking Lusitania. After a muddled roar, he felt the shock of the explosion. The ship lurched. Moran was knocked out of his bunk, and he felt himself being drenched as water poured through the portholes and doors. In the passageway, people were choking on smoke and dust.
The water rose quickly as people struggled to climb the ladders up the decks. Patrick grabbed a lifebelt and forced his way to the boat deck and saw chaos. He describes the situation this way:
The waves were something shocking. [T]hey were pelting mountain high against the side of the ship. I had my legs across the rails before I knew what I was doing. An engineer came up and pulled me back. He told me to get as high in the ship as I could. It did not matter how good a swimmer your were. The suction would bring you under.
In the excitement, I saw one lifeboat overturning as it was being lowered and the passengers tumbled into the water. I went over the side of the ship, holding onto a line. But as the seas pounded against me, I was forced to let go.
Patrick Moran fell into the water. A wave carried him away from the Lusitania. Patrick would never forget the Lusitania‘s funnels pointing to the sky as they plunged into the sea. He found himself in mass of people floating in the water. Some were clinging onto flotsam and jetsam, many were screaming for help, others were quiet.
Patrick saw another lifeboat come into view and he swam for it. On the lifeboat, he crouched and shivered in the cold. The Castlebar Parish magazine records that his lifeboat was picked up by a ship from Dublin. After hours in the cold and exposure, he doubted if he had the strength to climb to safety. He clambered aboard the rescue vessel before he collapsed on the deck. He heard the sailors remarking about how it would do no good to pick up the dead from the lifeboats.
There were seven recovered bodies on the lifeboat, which was towed behind the ship to Cork Harbor. Patrick was glad to be alive. He walked the decks and helped the injured where he could.
Upon arrival in Cork (most likely a reporting error and should have been Queenstown, now Cobh), he recalled:
There were lines of police and soldiers and madly-cheering people on the shores. Hot drinks and warm clothes were laid out for us in local homes and hotels. And the next morning, myself and most of the other surviving crewmen took the train to Dublin.
I’ll never forget the faces of the mothers, wives and children standing at the station as our train pulled in. Most of them were terribly poor, and most of them were waiting for men folk who would never return.
Patrick never went back to sea.
Links of interest
Patrick Moran’s account for the Castlebar Parish Magazine
Contributors:
Paul Davis (great-grandson of Patrick Moran)
References:
“HMS [sic] Lusitania.” Mayo Peace Park. Online. <http://www.mayopeacepark.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=227:hms-lusitania-&catid=1:articles-and-stories&Itemid=73> Accessed 29 September 2014 4:30 PM.
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