Special ceremonies are taking place in Cork to mark the 109th anniversary of RMS Lusitania sinking
Events in Cobh will include prayers, musical honours, wreath-laying, and public participation.
The Lusitania Museum in Kinsale to hold lectures and exhibits on the liner.
US businessman Gregg Bemis has transferred ownership of the wreck to a Kinsale committee for preservation and historical exploration.
RMS Lusitania sank 18km off the Cork coast on May 7, 1915, after being struck by a single torpedo from the German submarine, U-20. A second internal explosion occurred minutes later. The liner was carrying almost 60 tonnes of munitions bound for Britain from the US. A total of 1,198 people died, with just over 700 being saved.
Gregg Bemis said: “I want to solve the mystery of the second explosion that caused the liner to sink so fast with such heavy loss of life and bring some of the artefacts of the second most famous wreck in history after the Titanic.”
