Description

The Addergoole Titanic Story is a community-published historical work produced by the Addergoole Titanic Society, based in Lahardane, County Mayo, Ireland. First issued in 2010, with a second print in 2012, the book was created to preserve and promote the history of the 14 emigrants from the parish of Addergoole who travelled aboard the RMS Titanic in April 1912.

The story centres on the group of men and women who left rural Mayo seeking better opportunities in America. Like many Irish emigrants of the period, they travelled in steerage, carrying hopes of work, stability, and a new life abroad. Instead, the voyage ended in tragedy when the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912.

Of the fourteen passengers from Addergoole, eleven perished while only three survived, making it one of the highest proportional losses from any single Irish locality in the disaster.

The book not only records the names and fates of those involved but also situates their experience within the broader themes of Irish emigration, rural poverty, and early 20th-century transatlantic migration. It highlights how closely connected the individuals were—many from related families within a small rural parish—and how deeply the disaster affected the entire community.

Key themes include:

• The Addergoole 14 and their 1912 emigration journey
• Rural life in North Mayo in the early 20th century
• Irish emigration to America via Queenstown (Cobh)
• The sinking of RMS Titanic and passenger experiences
• Community memory and oral history preservation
• Local commemoration and memorial culture in Lahardane
• The role of the Addergoole Titanic Society in heritage preservation

The Addergoole Titanic Society was formed to research and promote this local history and has since organized commemorations, memorial events, and educational outreach. The publication of the book is part of wider efforts to ensure the story remains central to Irish Titanic history and local heritage identity.

The work is widely used in community heritage contexts, school education, and local history exhibitions, helping to keep alive the memory of one of the most poignant examples of Irish emigration tragedy tied to the Titanic disaster.