0:00:05 > 0:00:10'This case is one of very great importance for the parties
0:00:10 > 0:00:13'and also one of infinite importance to the travelling public.'
0:00:16 > 0:00:20This is the story the owners of the Titanic did not want you to know.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'I am sorry for the sake of my client that this great fight must arise
0:00:26 > 0:00:31'in a case in which the plaintiff is a humble man in small circumstances.'
0:00:32 > 0:00:36The story of an elderly, poor farmer from rural Ireland
0:00:36 > 0:00:41who took on the mighty White Star Line in the High Court in London.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46'He brought this case to recover damages for the death of his son.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:50A David and Goliath battle between a grieving father
0:00:50 > 0:00:54and one of the biggest companies in the world.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59To think that my grandfather took on such a massive company was amazing.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01To take them on and win.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04100 years on, it's time to tell the story
0:01:04 > 0:01:07of Thomas Ryan versus the White Star Line.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31The recession in Ireland has introduced a new generation
0:01:31 > 0:01:34to a custom many hoped was gone for good.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Emigration.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39But no matter how difficult and tearful the goodbyes,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43these emigrants can expect to be reunited with their loved ones
0:01:43 > 0:01:46sooner rather than later.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54For the fortune-seekers of Edwardian Ireland, there were no such guarantees.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57They may have left behind grinding poverty,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01but the distances involved and the cost of travel
0:02:01 > 0:02:04were so great that many never saw their families again.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Well, it wasn't always just about the famine.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12People looked for better opportunity elsewhere.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14You would have had...
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Ordinary life in rural Ireland at that time was difficult.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Life in the cities was dreadful.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Dublin was considered to be one of the worst cities
0:02:23 > 0:02:25at the turn of the century throughout Europe.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27So people looked to other countries.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32And, you know, the relatives writing back about this land of opportunity,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35it must have been a huge attraction for people at the time.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41By the early 20th century, Ireland's population,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43which once stood at 6.5 million,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46had dropped to just 3 million.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Askeaton in County Limerick, like many other parts of rural Ireland,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53experienced that huge social change.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58In 1912, four young people from the town
0:02:58 > 0:03:00decided to seek their fortunes in America.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Two of those aspiring emigrants
0:03:03 > 0:03:06had already tasted life in the United States.
0:03:06 > 0:03:0827-year-old Daniel Moran
0:03:08 > 0:03:11had been working as a police officer in New York.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15He and his 28-year-old sister Bridget, also known as Bertha,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17had recently returned to Askeaton
0:03:17 > 0:03:20to settle the estate of their father.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Travelling back to the States with them was 20-year-old Maggie Madigan,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28who was going out to join her sister who had already emigrated.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31And 29-year-old Patrick Ryan,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36who was also planning a career in the New York Police Department.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38But fate intervened.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42And, like so many, the bodies of Patrick Ryan and Daniel Moran
0:03:42 > 0:03:47were lost in the icy waters of the Atlantic.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Their stories, too, would have vanished without trace,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52but for one man's determination.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Patrick's father, Thomas Ryan,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58wanted to know the truth behind the sinking of Titanic.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02The only way to find out more about Thomas's story
0:04:02 > 0:04:05is to go to the south west of Ireland,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08to visit his home town of Askeaton in County Limerick,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11where he lived all his life.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Thomas Ryan was married to Ellen Donoghue.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27They had 13 children, including Patrick and his younger brother Tom.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32It was Tom's son Michael who I found still living in Askeaton.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Despite him being in his 80s and in poor health, he wanted to see us
0:04:37 > 0:04:42and he allowed me to film the only interview ever recorded with him.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Is this a story that has just always been important to you?
0:06:13 > 0:06:19Sadly, within just a few weeks of that interview, Michael passed away.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24His dying wish was that people would know how his grandfather Thomas
0:06:24 > 0:06:28took on the mighty White Star Line and won.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It was now down to his daughter Fiona and son Cormac
0:06:31 > 0:06:33to carry on where he left off.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38You lead the way, Cormac.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And is this the area known as Toomdeely, then?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Yeah.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56I'm sure this isn't somewhere you would have visited much
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- before you knew about this story here.- No.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04This is it.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Before I contacted you, what did you know about Patrick Ryan?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13That he went down with the Titanic. That was it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15You knew nothing?
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Absolutely nothing except that he went down with the Titanic.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22That was the sum total of my knowledge of it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24And Dad had never really spoken much about him.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28We had seen pictures of the Titanic and we were told,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32"A relative of yours went down with the Titanic." That was it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- So what did you know about this case?- Nothing.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40Nothing about it until you came and opened it all up.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Now that you've found out so much more,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46what do you make of it all?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Um... We were shocked when we heard about it
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and amazed that Thomas Ryan from Askeaton had...
0:07:54 > 0:07:58We were thinking how had he the money to go and pursue a case like this,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01taking on a huge company,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and that he actually won. We were just amazed.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15'This is the only photo Cormac and Fiona have
0:08:15 > 0:08:17'of their Great Uncle Patrick.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19'He was a cattle dealer
0:08:19 > 0:08:23'and most likely worked here, at the family farm.'
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So this is the original homestead. I know it's a factory now.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It was the original homestead.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33It would have been originally a thatched cottage in the early years, but it's gone.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36This is where your great-grandfather and great-uncle lived?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Yeah. And my grandfather.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Have you known about this long, Cormac?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Yesterday. - THEY LAUGH
0:08:44 > 0:08:49'It's a learning experience for both Cormac and Fiona,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52'helped greatly by the documents
0:08:52 > 0:08:55'their father gathered over many years.'
0:08:59 > 0:09:04'And a distant relative has unveiled another piece of history.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07'A boat named after their great-uncle.'
0:09:13 > 0:09:16This is the famous boat you've been telling me about?
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Yes. This is a cousin of ours and a grand-nephew of Patrick Ryan.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- Pleased to meet you, sir. - This is Julie.- Julie.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26This is the boat I've been hearing about?
0:09:26 > 0:09:27This is the boat, yes.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29It was named Saint Patrick after Patrick Ryan,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31who was lost on the Titanic.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The interesting thing is the man who commissioned to build the boat
0:09:35 > 0:09:38was trained as a draughtsman in Harland and Wolff in Belfast.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41He's been doing the same job for 100 years.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And it was named after the man that was lost,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Patrick Ryan, on the Titanic.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- It's amazing, isn't it?- Yes.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Will it be ready for these two to go out in it this year?
0:09:52 > 0:09:53- That it is, yeah. - THEY LAUGH
0:09:53 > 0:09:54If we dare.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Would you have known much about the court case we are learning about now?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02No. There was very little known about Patrick Ryan
0:10:02 > 0:10:04other than he was lost on the Titanic.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Even my own father wouldn't have been born for four years
0:10:07 > 0:10:10after his uncle was lost.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12And we grew up, we knew very little.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16'But what we do know is that it was early April 1912
0:10:16 > 0:10:20'when Patrick and his three friends decided to leave their home
0:10:20 > 0:10:24'for the first leg of their Titanic journey.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29'Their initial destination was Queenstown in County Cork,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31'now called Cobh.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33'Cormac and Fiona have come with me
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'to find out about Patrick's last hours in Ireland.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42'When the four would-be emigrants arrived in the town,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45'they stayed here, at McDonald's boarding house.'
0:10:45 > 0:10:49And this is where Patrick would have stayed the night?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52That's right. This is where he would have stayed.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55That was the usual thing when they...
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Maybe 12, 24 hours beforehand,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02they came into town and they took lodgings and stayed.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04They would have been sailing the following morning.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08On that, you see, the tender used to blow one blast
0:11:08 > 0:11:11for them to come down.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13This would have been the last bed...?
0:11:13 > 0:11:17That they would have slept in before they left shore.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22'It would have been an early start
0:11:22 > 0:11:26'for Patrick and his friends on 11th April, 1912.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35'They joined dozens of others praying for a safe passage
0:11:35 > 0:11:38'at Mass in St Colman's Cathedral.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'Afterwards, they made the short walk down
0:11:47 > 0:11:51'to the town's White Star Line offices.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55'Somewhere among the hundreds of third-class passengers
0:11:55 > 0:11:59'crammed on the pier is Patrick.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03'Looking down on him, first and second-class travellers
0:12:03 > 0:12:07'have a relaxed wait in more spacious surroundings.
0:12:14 > 0:12:20'The tender which ferried passengers to Titanic took an hour.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24'Cormac and Fiona are making that same journey.'
0:12:27 > 0:12:32So that would have been Patrick's last view of Ireland.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34What do you think was going through his head?
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Oh, I'd say...it must have been a mixture of excitement
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and obviously, sadness. There had to be sadness involved.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45He knew he was going on a big adventure.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47He thought he was going to have a great life in America.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49And he was doing a historic journey
0:12:49 > 0:12:53because he was on the maiden voyage of this massive Titanic.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56He didn't know things were going to turn out this way.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59He was excited about leaving and sad at the same time.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02It's kind of hard to imagine the two together.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04In hindsight, if he had known what was coming,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06he wouldn't have got on the boat.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11'Cobh has said farewell to countless Irish emigrants.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14'And the memory of those long goodbyes are kept safe
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'by today's seafarers.'
0:13:17 > 0:13:20And they lit a fire on the headlands
0:13:20 > 0:13:23at the time they were saying goodbye to everyone.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28And each headland on the way down has a watch-over tower.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30So the fires continued all the way down.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- They used to do that for funerals, as well.- That's right.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- It was like a wake, in some respects.- Yeah.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40And would there have been many people on the dock in Cobh to say goodbye?
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Oh, yeah.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Would there have been like a party atmosphere or very sombre?
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I'd say it was probably sombre.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50It would have been a party in some way because there was an excitement
0:13:50 > 0:13:52because it was a new life for a lot of people.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54It was sad for people left behind,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57but for people who were heading out, it was a new adventure.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59There was a lot of sadness there, as well.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03I wonder, did he think that maybe he would be coming back at some stage?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Because he was going over to a career,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07he was going to be a police officer.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Would he have saved up enough money to come home?
0:14:10 > 0:14:12- Yeah.- Or would he have bothered?
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- Who knows?- He was still very young. - Yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I kind of feel a bit more of a sense of history, as well,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20but I also feel kind of...
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Dad would have been... He would have been really...
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I'd say he would've been kind of sad as well,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30to have been standing here, looking at this and thinking about
0:14:30 > 0:14:33his relatives and how they would've felt.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36It must have been... I don't know, I think it's nice.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It's lovely to have been here and seen this.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51'In the 100 years after the famine, Cobh Harbour was the departure point
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'for nearly half of the 6 million Irish people
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'who emigrated to America.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59'Many of them chose to travel with the company
0:14:59 > 0:15:02'behind some of the biggest ships ever built.'
0:15:05 > 0:15:08The White Star Line building is still here today.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10In 1912, its red and white flag
0:15:10 > 0:15:14was the equivalent of the Virgin Airlines or BA logo of its day.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Its colours told travellers they were about to set sail
0:15:17 > 0:15:22with the greatest and safest shipping company in the world.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24'The rest, of course, is history.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27'It wasn't a ticket to a better life in America,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31'but to a life-or-death struggle onboard the stricken liner,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38'A struggle that's remembered at this heritage centre.'
0:15:38 > 0:15:42I suppose in the scheme of things, four from Askeaton
0:15:42 > 0:15:47out of 123 altogether from southern Ireland is a lot.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- It is, yes.- Practically unsinkable and absolutely fireproof.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54THEY LAUGH
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'The names of all who left Queenstown
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'on that fateful journey are recorded here.'
0:16:01 > 0:16:06She obviously survived because there's no cross beside her name.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- Patrick Ryan.- Patrick Ryan. - Yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13Oh, Lord.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17It's very eerie to think that he was in here
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and left from here.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- Arrived here in Cobh.- Yeah.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25And was offered this date.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- See under that name?- Yes.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31So then they didn't know if it was right that he had died or not.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37I got a chill crossing the road when we were going to that boarding house.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It was nearly like he was there with us.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Patrick and Dad, guiding us along.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Yesterday, we learned Patrick knew people in Cobh in the customs house.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- I never knew that.- That customs guy, I think, was a Limerick man.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54He was. And he went on the tender out with them and put them on the Titanic
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and asked the staff to look after them.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- For someone to say, "You look after this person. He's my friend."- Yes.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05- It's comforting, in a way. - It is comforting. Yeah.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12'But there was no comfort for Patrick Ryan's father, Thomas.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'He left his home in County Limerick to go to the High Court in London
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'to sue the people who owned White Star Line,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22'the Oceanic Steam Navigation company.'
0:17:24 > 0:17:26'There had already been two enquiries
0:17:26 > 0:17:29'that had cleared them from any blame for the disaster,
0:17:29 > 0:17:34'but Thomas Ryan could not and did not accept that.'
0:17:39 > 0:17:43'To find out more about this remarkable court case,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46'we went to the National Library in Dublin
0:17:46 > 0:17:49'to see how the newspapers of the day reported it.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- This is your first time here? - Yeah.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It's amazing. I've never been before.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57The public record office...
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Action against White Star Company.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Yeah. Yeah.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04What's the next reading?
0:18:04 > 0:18:09"Irish emigrant, relatives sue for damages."
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Oh, right. Take a look at that.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15The case of Thomas Ryan was taken first.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- So that's your great-grandfather. - Our great-grandfather.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22- To actually see his name on paper. - Yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26"Mr Scanlan, opening the pleadings, said the plaintiff, Thomas Ryan,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30"brought the action for the benefit of himself
0:18:30 > 0:18:34"as father of Patrick Ryan, deceased."
0:18:34 > 0:18:36It says there Patrick was 27.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Did we know...? I thought he was older than that.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43It was hard to determine what age he was because of the census.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Back then they changed ages because there was conscription.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49"Mr Duke, for the defendant, said his case was that
0:18:49 > 0:18:52"there had been all proper and ordinary and reasonable care."
0:18:52 > 0:18:55So they were denying it, basically, weren't they?
0:18:55 > 0:18:59'The court was told that April was a treacherous time
0:18:59 > 0:19:04'to take a ship to America because of the danger of icebergs.'
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Asked why the iceberg wasn't discovered sooner,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13a witness had said there was no wind,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16the sea was quite smooth, there was no moon
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and the iceberg must have come on them
0:19:19 > 0:19:21with its black side against them.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- So there would be no reflected light.- Oh, right.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29'But those steering the ship had been warned there was danger ahead.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32'Thomas Ryan's legal team had evidence to show
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'that five ships had sent Marconi messages
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'warning there was ice in the area.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40'Though the court could only be sure
0:19:40 > 0:19:44'three had been seen by responsible officers.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- What does that say? - The old story retold.- Retold.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54"The action by Thomas Ryan, a Cork farmer, against..."
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- Cork farmer!- Yeah.- I'm going to have to take issue with that.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00I don't think so.
0:20:00 > 0:20:06- Look, it says there defendants denied any negligence.- My God!
0:20:06 > 0:20:09How could they be so bold as to say there was no negligence?
0:20:09 > 0:20:11'And during the hearing, it was revealed
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'that despite the warnings of ice,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17'Titanic still didn't slow down.'
0:20:17 > 0:20:21'Although they saw the berg 500 yards away,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24'they were unable, owing to the speed of the ship,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26'to deflect it so as to pass safely by.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30'What was their excuse for not reducing speed?'
0:20:32 > 0:20:36'The jury agreed that they had no excuse.'
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Here. Look, Titanic judgements.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43"The jury found that there had been negligence
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- "as to the speed of the Titanic." - Oh, right. OK.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50So that's the main point, isn't it?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53'But White Star Line still refused
0:20:53 > 0:20:56'to admit responsibility for Patrick's death,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00'highlighting their terms and conditions.'
0:21:01 > 0:21:04There's talk about this ticket that they were on as well.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Whether the defendants in Ryan's case were exempt from liability
0:21:08 > 0:21:12owing to the conditions of the emigrant ticket.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16'This was White Star Line's defence.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18'Two small words at the bottom of the ticket
0:21:18 > 0:21:21'which told the owner to turn it over.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26'On the back was a disclaimer that no matter what happened,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28'the company would not be responsible.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'However, a brother of Patrick's travelled to the High Court
0:21:34 > 0:21:38'to explain why the company couldn't use that defence.'
0:21:38 > 0:21:42And he said that his brother had never seen the ticket.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It was a joint ticket for two friends and himself.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48The jury found against the defendant,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52so found against White Star Line in the Ryan case.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- It's amazing, isn't it?- Isn't it?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57"Judgement for £100 damages
0:21:57 > 0:22:03"was yesterday, in the London King's Bench, given to Mr Thomas Ryan,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- "a Cork farmer..."- Yes!
0:22:05 > 0:22:10"..in his action against the Oceanic Steam Navigation company
0:22:10 > 0:22:14"for the loss of his son in the Titanic disaster."
0:22:14 > 0:22:19That's not much, is it, £100? How much would that have been then?
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- I don't know.- It would have been a lot of money, but it's...
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- But for the loss of a life. - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:22:26 > 0:22:32'A case of very great importance' was how it was described at the time.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34But how is it seen now?
0:22:36 > 0:22:38He was an unlikely person to be the one
0:22:38 > 0:22:41taking on this great company, wasn't he?
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Well, he was unlikely
0:22:43 > 0:22:47in the sense that he was an elderly farmer from County Limerick.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52But my guess is that the lawyers were fairly shrewd
0:22:52 > 0:22:55in that they picked a case that they felt they could win
0:22:55 > 0:22:57because they had two aspects to it.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01They had the negligence aspect, but they also had, if you like,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04the plan B, that the disclaimer wasn't going to be of any benefit.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09So they wanted to immediately knock down the whole issue of the ticket
0:23:09 > 0:23:12so that the disclaimer was of no value whatsoever.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16The Morans and Patrick Ryan were third-class passengers.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22So they were really fairly low down the pecking order.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24And this ticket was a three-way ticket.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26It wasn't an individual ticket.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30The fact it transpired that Patrick probably had never seen the ticket
0:23:30 > 0:23:34and therefore, for the disclaimer to be effective at all,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37it needs to have been demonstrated
0:23:37 > 0:23:40that the person against whom the disclaimer is being used
0:23:40 > 0:23:43must be aware of the disclaimer.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45It's a bit like going into a car park
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and the disclaimer sign's up that, er,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52if you park your car here, the owner of the car park
0:23:52 > 0:23:56isn't liable for any damage to the car or if it's broken into.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00But those signs need to be in full view for them to be effective.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07'The Ryan case was also significant because it was a class action
0:24:07 > 0:24:11'that paved the way for other families to make claims for damages.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16'To this day, we don't know how many of them received payments.'
0:24:22 > 0:24:28'For Cormac and Fiona, there's just one final stop on their journey.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38'They've come to Belfast to see where the story started.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'And it's here at the new Titanic Belfast attraction
0:24:43 > 0:24:47'that Harland and Wolff built their 401st ship.'
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- Would this represent the actual size of the Titanic?- Yeah.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58This would be slipway number two.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01What we'll have here will be an outline of the deck of the Titanic.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05The Titanic would have run here from the water's edge
0:25:05 > 0:25:07all the way back up to New Titanic Belfast.
0:25:07 > 0:25:1015,000 workers a day would have been coming into Harland and Wolff.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13And 2,500 to 3,000 of them would have been here,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16working on slipways two and three on the Titanic and Olympic.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18This building, the size of it,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21is it any representation to the size of the Titanic?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Yeah. The angle hulls that you see there
0:25:23 > 0:25:27is the same height as the Titanic would have sat here 100 years ago.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29As you stand there and look up,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32you're seeing what the workers would have seen every day.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Just that fantastic height of the Titanic.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Shortly after 12pm on May 21st, 1911,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42thousands of people all along the piers here were coming down
0:25:42 > 0:25:47and a flare went up and they released the anchors on the Titanic.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49There was no breaking of champagne.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The White Star Line never broke champagne on their ships.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56It took her 63 seconds to slide down the slipways. So she would have been at an angle.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00There's 20 tonnes of oil, grease and soap used to lubricate the slipways.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03She'd been sitting there for two years,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06so she probably got into a fairly comfortable state.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Ultimately, if the Titanic hadn't sunk,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- we wouldn't be standing here today. - That's right.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17And it's a very poignant thing to think that I'm employed
0:26:17 > 0:26:20due to the sinking of the Titanic.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I suppose what you have to look at,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25out of every disaster that happens, something comes out of it.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the disaster and the people that died
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and also reflect on the work that was done here.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I know that when I came to see you and your father last year,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01he had said that he would really have loved to have gone to Belfast.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04What do you think he would have made of this?
0:27:04 > 0:27:07I think he would have loved to come to Belfast.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11He would have loved to have seen where it all started.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14The sheer size of it. He would have had so many questions.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Questions we couldn't think of because, you know,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19he would have loved it. Loved it.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21It's like a jigsaw.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Coming up here is another little part of this jigsaw that's fitting into place.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28We're up where the actual Titanic itself was built.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34This kind of... It adds to the whole mystery of Patrick Ryan himself.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38I'm where the story started and ultimately finished up.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46For me it's been a history lesson, really. A massive history lesson.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48This has just captured my imagination.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03The family are gobsmacked with the fact that this has happened
0:28:03 > 0:28:07and that it has come to light 100 years after it happened.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11It's just... It's amazing stuff.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Titanic to me now is personal. It's not just a story.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20It's not just a ship that sank. It's personal. It's part of us now.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It's part of our heritage and a part of our history.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27It's not something that we will ever forget.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30And it's not something we will ever take for granted again.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Titanic is a big story, but it's our story.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd