A FUNDRAISER for the proposed Lusitania Museum at the Old Head of Kinsale will be launched in St Catherine’s Cultural Centre in Kinsale on Thursday November 5, writes Kieran O’Mahony.

Lusitania: The Next Chapter: An evening of Art, History and the Future of the Lusitania Museum will show a new fundraising campaign video and an update on the development of the proposed museum.

This community-led project has been almost two decades in development with the restoration of the Old Head Signal Tower completed in 2015.

This was followed by the creation of the Lusitania Memorial Garden two years later.

The project is now in the advanced stages of its third phase, with planning permission secured in 2025 for a dedicated Lusitania Museum at the Old Head.

Planning permission was granted for a single-storey, L-shaped museum on a site of the existing wastewater treatment plant, which will be demolished.

The new museum, which will be partially below ground level, will also incorporate an exhibition space, café, gift shop, visitor bathrooms, lift, plant and storeroom.

The existing parking will also be relocated and a new wastewater treatment system implemented.

As the Old Head Signal Tower, located at Ballynackean is a protected structure the application does not involve any work to the tower.

The site is significant as it represents the closest point of land to the final resting place of the RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat on May 7th 1915, with the loss of 1,201 lives.

The evening will feature an illustrated presentation by artist Áine Andrews.

Australian Mike Brady, founder of Oceanliner Designs will also speak at the event.

Tickets (€20), and information at [email protected] or 021-4191285.