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A Duhallow Connection With One Of Maritime’s Greatest Tragedies
By TADHG CURTIN
On Tuesday, 29th of July, 2025, Teresa Collins (nee O’Connell) at the age of 94, went onto her eternal reward. She was surrounded by family and friends in the Mercy University Hospital. I knew the woman and I am very friendly with members of her family. It was in 2019 that I got to talk to her properly as an adult. I was taking photos at the First Communion of her grandson, Joey. Sitting at the kitchen table of her son, Ger, and his wife, Eileen, she relayed the story of her uncle, Patrick D. O’Connell and his tragic loss in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. I was fascinated. The tale of the Titanic in general enthralled me and even scared me since I was a child. Her story touched on Duhallow’s connection with this important piece of history.
Patrick D. O’ Connell, Kingwilliamstown, (Ballydesmond) Co. Cork.
Born: 1895
Age: 17
Ticket No: 334912
3rd Class Passenger- Lost, body never recovered.
Destination: New York City, U.S.A. Died: April 15th, 1912.
At the young age of 17, Patrick O’Connell set off with a group of nine from Sliabh Luachra. They included Daniel Buckley, Hannah Riordan, Bridget Bradley, Ellen Shine, Nora O’ Leary, (these five were saved), Patrick, Michael Linehan, Patrick O’Connor and Julia Barry (These four were lost). According to local tradition O’Connell’s family pub in Kingwilliamstown was the venue for an ‘’American Wake’’ to bid farewell to the departing group the night before they travelled to
Queenstown. He was heading to America for a better life but he was enticed by the sense of wonder and adventure. His family were relatively wealthy, owning a pub and a farm in Kingwilliamstown. Patrick shared a cabin with his cousin, Daniel Buckley (Saved), Michael Linehan (Lost) and Patrick O’ Connor (Lost). In a cruel twist of fate, Patrick initially forgot his suitcase when he got to his local train station to board the train to Queenstown. He had to rush back home to retrieve his suitcase, and made the train with only five minutes to spare. In the immediate wake of the ships collision with the iceberg, the gang from Sliabh Luachra initially did not believe that the ship was sinking. But as the night went on, they realised the seriousness of the disaster. Patrick was one of the many lost in the ship’s sinking and his body was never recovered. Teresa said that apparently during the night of the tragedy, back in Ballydesmond, Patrick’s dog howled all night long, seemingly mourning the loss of their master.
For the centenary anniversary of the disaster, relatives of those lost were invited to Cobh, where they were given honorary citizenship of the town by the then mayor, Jim Quinlan. Teresa was one of the relatives given this honour.
Thank you to the Collins family for their wonderful material. Teresa’s months mind mass will be on this Sunday, September 21st in St. Fursey’s Church, Banteer at 11:30am. Her family wish to extend an invitation to everyone in joining them for the mass. Thank you to the Titanic Experience Cobh. You can follow the Titanic Experience Cobh on Facebook.
