Even though his official birth certificate states that he was born on the 26th April 1890, Patrick Sheedy was actually born in Killone, Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, on the 27th January 1890, the son of Thomas and Honora Sheedy (née McMahon). The family home was at Bansha, Derragh, Ennis, County Clare. His family were farmers, and his father died in 1897, leaving his mother to raise a large family.
On the 2nd September 1914, he boarded the Laconia at Queenstown, and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, a week later. On his arrival, he made his way to his brother, Thomas, in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
He most have fallen foul of the authorities, however, because he was described as an “inmate of an institution”, and, as he was in the United States of America for less than three years, a warrant for his deportation was issued by the Department of Labor.
As a result, it is likely that he was escorted to New York City and put on board the Lusitania at her berth at Pier 54 in New York, probably on the morning of 1st May 1915. He was listed as a third class passenger on the liner‘s schedule 10.00 a.m. sailing.
It is also possible, that once on board, he would have been put in the custody of either of the two ship’s Masters at Arms, - Peter Smith or William Williams - and may have been detained in an office or cabin, rather than having free run of the ship, at least until she had sailed! This sailing was actually delayed until just before 12.30 p.m., because the Lusitania had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from fellow Cunarder the S.S. Cameronia which the British Admiralty had taken up from trade for service as a troop ship at the end of April.
Six days later on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U-20 and sank just eighteen minutes later. At that time, she was only about 250 miles away from the safety of her Liverpool home port.
Patrick Sheedy lost his life as a result of this action, although his body was later recovered from the sea and taken to Queenstown. Being one of the first to be landed, it was laid out in the temporary mortuary set up in the yard of the Cunard office at Lynch’s Quay, where it was given the reference number 13. Once it had been positively identified, however, on 10th May 1915, it was taken to The Old Church Cemetery, about two miles north of the town, and there buried in Mass Grave A, 1st Row, Lower Tier, where it lies there to this day. It was on 10th May that most of the victims of the sinking were buried following a long funeral procession which began at Lynch’s Quay.
On 1st December 1915, property recovered from his body, which probably aided its identification, was sent to his mother at the Derragh, address. It included a purse, containing £0-7s-0d., (£0.35p.) in silver coin, a fountain pen and a pair of cuff links.
Even if he had been restrained until the liner sailed, it is likely that he was free when she was sunk. This is because altogether, there were five deported persons on board the liner - all sailing third class. They were Miss Sarah King, Miss Violet Neilson, Mr. Robert Molloy, Mr. Ajunnar Nikander and Patrick Sheedy himself. Although four of the five, like Patrick Sheedy also perished, Miss Nielson survived. Thus it is probable that if she was able to escape, then none of them was actually imprisoned at the time the liner was struck!
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Irish Select Catholic Births and Baptisms 1763 – 1917, 1901 Census of Ireland, 1911 Census of Ireland, Massachusetts Passenger Lists 1820 – 1963, Cunard Records, Boston Daily Globe, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/8-10, UniLiv D92/2/497, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.