Patrick McMahon was stated to have been born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, in 1870. However: due to his name being so common, and as there were a number of men serving in the British Mercantile Marine with the same name, it has proved impossible to determine which one of them served on the Lusitania.
Patrick McMahon was a professional seaman in the British Mercantile Marine and in April 1915, he had been in New York, in the United States of America, having served on the steamer S.S. Corfe Castle.
On the 29th April, he engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania at New York, and he was employed on these duties when the liner left the port just after mid-day, on the 1st May, on what became her last ever voyage.
Just six days later, he survived the liner’s sinking after she had been torpedoed by the German submarine, U-20, off the southern coast of Ireland and only 250 miles away from her home port. Having been plucked from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he eventually made it back to Liverpool, where he was eventually officially discharged from the liner’s final voyage and paid the balance of wages owed to him in respect of it. This amounted to £2-14s.-4d. (£2.72p.).
In an article with the headline "Corkman's Thrilling Story" published in The Cork Examiner on the 13th May 1915, fellow fireman Charles Scannel told of his experiences during and after the sinking and this included a mention of Patrick McMahon: -
As far as I can learn since, only two of the seventeen room mates of mine were saved, in addition to myself, namely Hugh Stanley and Patrick McMahon. There were in all about 200 firemen and trimmers in the ship - the "Black Gang," as they are called, and the majority of these were drowned, and I have no doubt that all the men in stoke holds on the 12 to 4 watch went down too."
There was another fireman on board the Lusitania named Patrick McMahon. He came from County Monaghan, Ireland, and was killed as a result of the torpedoing. His death and the survival of the Liverpool born fireman has sometimes caused confusion as there is a Fireman Patrick McMahon in both the survivors and perished list of crew members known to have been on board the ship, which was published by The Cunard Steam Ship Company in March 1916.
As far as can be ascertained, Patrick McMahon continued to serve in the Mercantile Marine for a number of years following his ordeal.
Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Cork Examiner, PRO BT 100/345. Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 6th January 2025.