Eugene Daly with his bagpipes
Eugene Patrick Daly, 29, from Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, was a Third Class Passenger travelling to New York City. He boarded the Titanic at Queenstown (ticket number 382651, £7, 15s). He is best known for two things: First off, his playing of the bagpipes all throughout Third Class, and the second is his testimony of seeing an officer shoot two passengers and then himself.
Eugene Daly was born on 23 January 1883 in Lisclough, Westmeath, Ireland. He was the son of James Patrick Daly and Catherine Farrelly.
Eugene entertained himself and the Third Class entourage with his bagpipes whenever he wanted, and his music could be heard by the other classes as well.
The iceberg collision woke him up, it, in his own words, 'nearly threw him out of his bed'. He didn't waste time to get up on the Boat Deck.
When it was very late, probably half an hour before Titanic's final moments, he saw two men in an act of desperation throw themselves into a lifeboat and an officer shoot them with a revolver. He then heard another shot, and saw the officer lying motionless on the deck. He thought that he had seen enough and he dived overboard. He was later picked up by Collapsible B.
Upon landing in New York and physically recovering from his ordeal, he competed in the Gaelic Feis bagpipe competition in Celtic Park, although he didn't win the grand prize. Daly later claimed $50 compensation from the White Star Line for the loss of his beloved instrument.
He went on to marry a woman named Lillian, with whom he had one child, Marian Joyce, who was born during one of his visits back to Ireland. Daly utlimately settled in the US in the 1960's and was living in the Bronx at the time of his death, on October 30, 1965. He reached the age of 82.
Sources[]
- 'Titanic' ©1996 (second print, 1998) Edward P. De Groot
- https://www.irishcentral.com/news/eugene-daly-irish-titanic
- https://nl.findagrave.com/memorial/11726421/eugene-patrick-daly
- https://www.geni.com/people/Eugene-Daly/6000000016039247922
- https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/eugene-patrick-daly.html
- https://www.williammurdoch.net/mystery02_witness_03_edaly.html