One hundred years ago on May 31st 1911 the ship Titanic was launched - the biggest boat in the world at that time. She set sail on her maiden transatlantic voyage from Southampton on April 10th 1912. Everyone has seen the Hollywood movie and knows that 5 days later she struck an Iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland and sunk. Of the 2200 passengers on board there were only 700 survivors.

Thousands of people in Belfast had been employed either directly or indirectly in some aspect of the building of the massive ship. Among the workers were Billy, Geordie, Sam, Hughie and Wee Tam who were adamant that the ship’s sinking was not their fault. They quite rightly pointed out that they just built the thing - they did not sink it and it was perfectly fine when it left the Yard. They also pointed out that it was whoever planted the big ignorant iceberg in the Atlantic was to blame and not them.

Titanic Song

In Belfast town we were mad keen,

To build the biggest boat ever seen;

Folk said she’d never be sunk,

They never thought they were in for a gunk.

Hammerin’ sore and hammerin’ hard,

On the great big boat in the Belfast yard;

Ship Titanic was to be her name

What a pity, what a shame.

CHORUS:

Don’t blame Billy, Geordie or Sam,

Don’t blame Hughie or Wee Tam;

Don’t blame us and don’t blame me,

For poor Titanic beneath the sea.

In 1912 the spring of the year,

The big girl showed she had no fear;

Southampton quay she sailed away,

Bound out for Americay.

Folk on board were glad as could be,

Just to be part of the historie;

They sung their praises up and down,

On the big boat built in Belfast town.

So sing with pride and sing out loud,

We’re the boys, true and proud;

We’re the boys from Belfast town,

You’ll surely know then we’re around;

In the yard in East Belfast,

We built the big boat meant to last;

Folk said she’d never be sunk,

They never thought they were in for a gunk.

Belfast and the Tourist Board are now working hard at informing the world that the Titanic was actually built at Harland and Wolff’s Shipyard in Belfast. The big Hollywood movie didn’t mention this fact and so the world out there assumes that the ship was built in England somewhere - or perhaps built in America where the biggest things in the world are normally built and sent over to England to start its maiden voyage.

The story of shipbuilding in Belfast is as big a story as the Titanic itself. The first big ocean sailing boat to be built in Belfast was the Eagle’s Wing in 1636. The Eagle’s Wing didn’t quite make it to America either. it didn’t hit an iceberg but horrendous weather conditions forced it to return to Belfast with the disappointed passengers. In the nineteenth century however there was a boom in the building of ocean liners and ships such as the Oceanic, Britannic and Olympic which made many successful transatlantic crossings. The twentieth century continued to be a successful shipbuilding era for Harland and Wolff but sadly the last boat to be fully built was the Anvil Point in 2003.

I have heard that Southampton was well advanced in their preparations for the centenary commemorations about three years ago. This certainly was also the case when I visited Halifax, Nova Scotia three years ago. Just after the Titanic sank three ships from Halifax were involved in the awful task of finding and picking up dead bodies. Many of the victims of the disaster were buried in cemeteries in the Canadian Port. In the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, situated along the tastefully preserved waterfront of this historic port, there is an impressive collection of Titanic artifacts. Three years ago Halifax was actively promoting Titanic aspects of their museum and graveyards to the thousands of tourists who flock there each year. Curiously Belfast City has, or at least used to have some sort of formal business and cultural exchange going with the province of Nova Scotia. I haven’t heard of any joint-up effort to promote the Titanic Story but it would seem a natural thing to happen.

Belfast doesn’t have what Halifax, Nova Scotia has for tourist infrastructure but attempts are now being made to elevate our Titanic connection for tourists and also to educate our own folk. There are now guided Titanic walks around relevant docks (check out www.titanic.com). The Titanic Dock and Pump House is now open to the public as a visitors centre at Queen’s Island and well worth a visit. www.titanicsdock.com

To tie in with this I would recommend a boat tour with “The World’s Only Titanic Bus Tours” as it is marketed. These entertaining and educational guided excursions around the relevant sights depart everyday from Donegall Quay, near the Big Fish Sculpture beside the Lagan Lookout. Tickets are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre, or you can book online at www.laganboatcompany.com or phone the boat company at 028 90 330844 for more details. You could also purchase a smart t-shirt from them which says “Titanic Built in Belfast” and “She was alright when she left here”

Many other Titanic enthusiasts (or Titanoraks as some clever folk would call them) have been promoting the Titanic story in different ways. Titanic memorabilia is now available in touristy shops and gift shops throughout the city. Terry Madill is one enthusiast who is making a Titanic reputation for himself by starting up the “Titanic Schools Project”. He has been working with dozens of schools across Northern Ireland giving them educational tours and presentations. Terry is also an entertainer and I have watched one of the entertaining drama skits that he gets the school children to act out. This clever skit gives insight into what work was carried out in the shipyard and also insight into the spirited character of the shipyard workers. The skit explains that many of the workers were given nicknames by their co-workers but Samuel Morrison didn’t have a nickname until the day he was promoted to the position of foreman. On his first day as foreman someone shouted over “hey Sammy”, Sammy shouted back “for you lot, from this day on my name is Sammy no more. From this day on you will address me as Mr Morrison” From that day on he was known as “Sammy No More”. The spirit of nicknaming is still alive in Belfast today and so Terry Madill is now nicknamed “Titanic Terry”. Check out Titanic Terry’s schools project on www.titanicschools.com.

The Lord Mayor’s Parade, this year under the new artistic management of Small World Music included a section on the Titanic theme. Fifers, drummers, dancers and chanters delivered a rousing reenactment of an early 20th century street parade in Belfast.