The artefacts included in the show were brought up from the wreck in 2000 by RMS Titanic Inc.  The organisers estimate that it takes around two hours to stop and read the text for everything which has been put on display. As I was appointed official photographer for the Society,  I didn’t get to see everything in as much detail as I would have liked but I hope to make a return visit before the exhbition moves on to Australia to get a better look at some of the things which I missed.  There really is so much to take in that in any circumstances it probably merits a second look.

What I will comment on is some of the objects which stood out for me and the general tone of the exhibition.  The artefacts which jumped out at me for the way in which they had survived over 90 years on the ocean floor were a top hat looking almost like new,  a bottle of Clicquot champagne, cork still in and wine still within the bottle and a clarinet which looked as if it could still produce a tune.  It is amazing to see what has remained intact at the bottom of the Atlantic.

There are big set-pieces to give you a more rounded Titanic experience. The wall of ice allows you to experience the sort of temperatures which survivors endured on 15th April 1912. There is a section of Titanic’s hull which you can touch before leaving the exhibition.  The sounds of the boiler room are recreated.The ticketing system whereby each visitor is given the name of a real passenger on Titanic and can find out at the end whether they survived is an idea that has been around Titanic exhibitions for some time now.  Some of our members found it a little crass.  With our society containing members who have lost relatives on Titanic there was always an outside chance that someone would get a ticket in the name of one of their forebearers.  This is especially true since the Harland and Wolff guarantee group are classed under the type of cabin they had rather than as crew.  I had no particular feelings either way about the practise but was somewhat amused by the fact that in keeping with my great grandfather’s fate,  my given ticket holder, Edith Peacock, did not survive.

The visit had another special significance in that it was a chance to meet up with our counterparts from the Irish society and the Addergoole Titanic Society based in County Mayo.  Addergoole has a special connection to Titanic in that 12 inhabitants of this tiny village were lost on Titanic.  I will write more about this in a future blog.  The three societies were able to chat and mingle over dinner at the hotel and it seemed the craic was only beginning for those who were staying overnight when we had to leave to return home.  We look forward to welcoming our two sister societies to Belfast in the near future.

All three societies were treated to an illustrated talk by Rory Golden, an Irish diver who has visited the wreck site on many occassions.  He has the honour of being the first person to touch Titanic’s wheel since Captain EJ Smith in 1912.  His talk about his adventures at the bottom of the Atlantic, his exploration of the ship and gathering of artefacts was excellent. Rory is clearly a man who cares deeply about Titanic.  He was able to explain to us how deeply embedded the bow of Titanic has become in the ocean floor.  Only about one fifth of it is exposed.  His explanation of the two and a half hour journey down to Titanic in the tiny submersible would make the most adventurous of us claustrophobic.  We are very grateful to Rory for taking us through his Titanic experiences in such a personal way.

What remains to be said is this.  The Artefact exhibition MUST come to Belfast. From what I can gather there is a waiting list of places around the globe which wish to host it.  Before or during 2012, this fine show must find a home in either the new Titanic Signature Building in Titanic Quarter or in the newly refurbished Ulster Museum. It is a shame that it has not been here already and it is a shame that it had to be housed over a hundred miles from Titanic’s birthplace.  The literature for the show says “the world’s most famous ship comes home”.  Not quite.  I hope that the people who will eventually run and operate the Signature Building will be putting in a bid to stage this exhibition now if they have not already done so.  Articles like Titanic’s bell belong in her home city, even if only on temporary loan.

The exhbition is at the City west hotel on the outskirts of Dublin.It costs 18Euro for adults and 14 for seniors.  More information at www.titanicdublin.com