Titanic: This year is the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. To honour this, an event is being held in the USA, called the TITANIC 110th Speaker Series.
This two-day event will take place on the anniversary of the sinking, April 14-15, 2022. It will be held at TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition Private Event Space in Orlando.
Irishman Rory Golden will be a guest speaker. Rory Golden became the first Irish diver to visit the wreck site in August 2000. He left a memorial plaque from Cobh, (Queenstown) Cork, Titanic’s last port of call, on the bridge of the ship, on behalf of the people of Ireland.
Irish Explorer Rory Golden
Rory was Dive Safety Operations Manager on the Operation Titanic 2000 Expedition that recovered 800 artifacts from nearly 4,000 metres, using Russian MIR submersibles.
On this first dive he spotted and recovered the main ship’s wheel, buried under debris.
Returning in August 2005, and making a second dive, he featured in a BBC documentary, “A Journey to Remember” leaving two more memorial plaques from Belfast alongside the first one.
DIve All-Rounder
Rory has been diving since 1976, as an instructor, commercial diver, technical diver, shop owner, service technician, boat operator, and former P.R.O. for The Irish Underwater Council. He also set up Ireland’s first inland dive centre in a flooded slate quarry in Portroe, Tipperary. Having dived all over the world, his favourite diving location is on the west coast of Ireland, in Connemara.
Rory has discovered lost wrecks around Ireland, and was a co-founder and vice president of the Irish Underwater Archaeology Research Team in 1985. He is a regular hiker, diver, and occasional skier. In March 2013 he was a member of the Bezos Expeditions F-1 Engine Recovery Team which salvaged five Apollo F-1 rocket engines from 4200 metres under the North Atlantic. One of these engines was from Apollo 11 which launched man to the moon in 1969.
Other speakers
Bill Sauder
Director of Titanic Research, RMS Titanic, Inc.
Mr. Sauder has spent more than 36 years contributing to the historical facts behind Titanic’s construction, her builders, and the culture that created her.
Charles Haas
President, Titanic International Society
Charlie is a co-founder of the Titanic International Society and a longtime trustee and a participant in three expeditions to the wreck site.
Alexandra “Alex” Klingelhofer
Conservator of Record
Alex Klingelhofer has overseen care of the Titanic artifact collection for 12 years.
Jeffrey Taylor
Director of Collections, E/M Group
Jeff oversees the storage and handling of the Titanic artifact collection and enjoys all aspects of object and artifact care.
Frank Goldsmith, Jr.
Survivor Descendant
Frank Goldsmith, Jr. was told the story by his grandmother and his father, both survivors of the tragedy that took the life of his grandfather.
Bill Willard
Researcher, Author
Bill Willard has been a Titanic researcher for 48 years and was a member of the 1998 Titanic Expedition to raise the Big Piece.
Paul-Henry (PH) Nargeolet
Director of Underwater Research, RMS Titanic, Inc.
P.H. is considered the leading authority on the wreck site having led several expeditions to Titanic, completed 35 dives in the submersible himself, and supervised the recovery of 5,000 artifacts.
William Lange
Director Advanced Imaging & Visualization, RMS Titanic, Inc.
Bill, a world-renowned expert in underwater imaging, was the first person to see the RMS Titanic wreck in 1985. Bill led the 2010 mapping survey which resulted in the first accurate
Full details of the event can be found here.
Want to read about other shipwrecks in Ireland? Then click here.
