Thomas Flaherty was born in Aughrus More, Claddaghdubh, Clifden, County Galway, Ireland, on the 6th November 1885, the son of Owen and Bridget Flaherty (née Mullen). His father was a farmer and fisherman – the family farm being along the coast, and Thomas was one of eleven children.
On the 19th September 1913, he married Norah Sullivan in the Roman Catholic Church in Clifden, and on the 14th September 1914, the couple had a daughter, named Mary Catherine.
Thomas Flaherty had first gone to the United States of America in 1908, living and working in Brooklyn, New York City, but had obviously returned prior to his marriage in 1913. On the 13th March 1914, he had boarded the
Baltic at Queenstown, and returned to Brooklyn. He resided at 251. Court Street, with his sister, Mary. He also had another brother and sister living in Brooklyn.
Then, in the spring of 1915, he decided to return home to Ireland. His daughter had been born in his absence, and no doubt he was returning to see her for the first time, and perhaps have his wife and daughter return to Brooklyn with him after a short holiday.
As a consequence, he booked a third class passage for himself from New York to Liverpool on the
Lusitania and joined the vessel before she sailed out of the North River for the last time, just after mid-day, on 1st May 1915.
Six days later, when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk, Flaherty was killed and as no trace of his body was ever found and identified later, he has no known grave. He was aged 29 years.
After news of the sinking reached his widow, she successfully applied to The Lusitania Relief Fund for financial help. This fund was set up by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and other local businessmen to give aid to those survivors or relatives of the dead who were experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the sinking. The award committee gave her an immediate sum of £0-10s-0d., (£0.50p.), per week for two months after which it stated that it would review the situation. On review, his widow was awarded £0-7s-6d. per week, with a further £0-2s-6d. for her child.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of Ireland, 1911 Census of Ireland, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Liverpool Record Office, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/11, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.