Cratloe family remembers Titanic victim

CRATLOE native Daniel Keane lost his life 100 years ago when RMS Titanic struck an iceberg just South of Newfoundland.
The 35-year-old, who was originally from Gallows Hill, was working as a tram conductor in Donnybrook, in Dublin and made the journey to Cobh, County Cork where he boarded Titanic in the hope of travelling to St Louis in Missouri.
His grandniece, Ita Cusack, from Ballyliddane, Cratloe explained how Daniel came to her grandmother’s home in Ballyliddane for a family get-together to send him off before he made the journey to Cobh.
“He came home to Clare before he left and he had a party in my grandmother’s house, Bridget King (née Keane), she was a sister to him, on the night before he left. He had a very valuable bicycle, which he left to a cousin. He also wore a belt tied around his waist that had sovereigns sewn onto it. We don’t know why he was travelling because he had a very good job in Dublin. We were wondering whether he knew somebody over there but we don’t know,” Ita explained.
Daniel’s father was Timothy Keane, his mother was Honar O’Mara and he had five brothers and three sisters. There are a number of his relatives still living in South-East Clare, including the Spaights, Lynches, O’Deas and O’Gormans.
Daniel was a second-class passenger on Titanic and paid 12 pounds seven shillings for his ticket.
Ita believes he may have travelled on the ship with some of his friends from Dublin but she doesn’t think any of his relatives went to Cobh with him to see him off, nor did any family travel with him.
“That night in Ballyliddane was the last night they heard from him. My mother told me they got a telegram [when Titanic sank]. There were some bodies found but his wasn’t found it seems,” Ita said.
As relatives of those who survived and died on Titanic 100 years ago come together to remember what happened on April 15, 1912, Ita said for her and her family it is a sad day. Her family will be coming together this weekend to remember Daniel Keane and are inviting all their extended relatives and neighbours to join them in the Little Church, Cratloe on Sunday at 10am where mass will be concelebrated by Canon Dan Spaight, a grand-nephew of Daniel Keane, together with parish priest Fr Liam Enright.
“That’s the best gesture that we could pay to him,” Ita concluded.