Commemorative Events to Mark the 111th Anniversary of the Lusitania Sinking Thursday, 7th May 2026
The Lusitania Museum & Old Head Signal Tower will host a special commemoration event on Thursday, 7th May 2026, to mark the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
The Lusitania Museum & Old Head Signal Tower is a non-profit community project managed by a local volunteer committee. The group have successfully completed the first two phases of their project, to restore the 220 year old Napoleonic Signal Tower at the Old Head and create a Lusitania Memorial Garden.

The Old Head of Kinsale is the closest point of land to the sinking of RMS Lusitania in 1915, in which 1,198 people lost their lives. In 2025, the project received planning permission from Cork County Council to build a dedicated Lusitania Museum onsite. The group hope to secure capital funding towards the delivery of the Lusitania Museum later this year.

At 2pm on Thursday 7th May, a commemoration ceremony will take place at the Lusitania Memorial Garden at the Old Head of Kinsale. The guest speaker this year is Gerald Dunne, the grandson of Lusitania survivor Constance Stroud. Though Constance survived, her 6 year old daughter Helen was lost in the sinking. Gerald will share his grandmother’s story, which is a poignant reminder of the trauma experienced by so many survivors of the sinking.
The event is free to attend, and all are invited to join in commemorating this significant historic event which resulted in so many lives lost.
For further information visit www.oldheadofkinsale.com or contact info@oldheadofkinsale.com.