Patrick McKenna was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the 29th March 1878, the son of Thomas and Ann McKenna (née Heaney). His father was a blacksmith, and Patrick was one of five known children in the family. The family lived at 16, St. Mary Street, Newry.
Patrick McKenna was a professional seaman in the British Mercantile Marine and served on board the Lusitania as a fireman in the Engineering Department when he engaged at New York, on the 30th April 1915, just in time for the ship's final voyage. His rate of pay was £6-10.-0d. (£6.50p.) per month.
He survived the sinking on the 7th May 1915, and nothing further is known about him.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Ireland Catholic Parish Registers 1655 – 1915, 1901 Census of Ireland, 1911 Census of Ireland, Cunard Records, PRO BT 348, PRO BT 349, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 2nd January 2025.