Dún Laoghaire memorial honours 570 victims of the RMS Leinster sinking

On the 108th anniversary of the disaster, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council paid tribute to the 570 people who died in the greatest ever loss of life in the Irish sea

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 10:45, 13 Oct 2026 View 3 Images The memorial includes the names of all those known to have been lost in the tragedy (Image: Shane O'Neill, Coalesce)

Dún Laoghaire has unveiled a memorial honouring the 570 lives lost in the 1918 sinking of the RMS Leinster.

On the 108th anniversary of the disaster, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council paid tribute to the 570 people who died in the greatest ever loss of life in the Irish sea . Cathaoirleach Councillor Barry Saul stated the project will ensure the tragedy of the RMS Leinster will never be forgotten.

“It is the latest step in a collaboration of remembrance - following on from the recovery of the anchor in 1991, the major events to mark the centenary in 2018, the films, books and digital resources now available and most importantly, the memories of the descendants and relatives of the people who lost their lives on that terrible day,” he stated.

The RMS Leinster was torpedoed and sunk soon after leaving Dún Laoghaire (then Kingstown), bound for Holyhead, in the final weeks of the First World War. The ship was completed in January 1897 and sunk on October 10, 1918.

Those who died came from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, the Channel Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States of America and Lithuania. Those who survived lived with the trauma of their experience in the years that followed.

View 3 Images The unveiling of the memorial by An Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Barry Saul and Honorary Chairperson of the RMS Leinster Memorial Committee, Richard Cruise (Image: Shane O'Neill, Coalesce)

Chief Executive Frank Curran stated the listing of the names of those who died joins a number of memorials along Dún Laoghaire's waterfront remembering those who died at sea. “These form an important part of the public realm of Dún Laoghaire and ensure that we make space in the modern world to remember the people and events of the past,” he said.

The RMS Leinster is now under the protection of the National Monuments Acts, which covers all shipwrecks over 100 years old. The project has been supported by the Civic Memorials Committee of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the RMS Leinster Memorial Committee, RMSLeinster.com, the Maritime Institute of Ireland, with funding from the Heritage Council of Ireland and the Department of Culture, Community and Sport.

View 3 Images Attendees gathered at Dún Laoghaire Harbour for the unveiling (Image: Shane O'Neill, Coalesce)

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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