Titanic exhibition on course for Civic Centre

The exhibition on February 16 was originally scheduled to take place later in 2012, but the date was moved to better coincide with the centenary of the sinking of the famous liner.

“The decision has come about as a result of continuous lobbying by the Council to have the centenary of the Titanic marked in some way in the Borough,” said Councillor David Hilditch, Chair of the Museums and Exhibitions sub-committee.

“I am on the Board of the Mid Antrim Museums Service and although there was an original agreement that the exhibition would take place in late 2012, we felt that it would be best to try and arrange that it takes place before the actual centenary, to give people a flavour of what to expect in April in Belfast.”

Cllr Hilditch indicated that the finer details of the exhibition have yet to be decided upon, with hopes that a number of other events will also be marked locally throughout the year.

“There are a number of other important anniversaries in 2012 that we would also like to recognise in the Borough in some way such as Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in June, which we would hope to tie in with the July 12 celebrations, and the signing of the Ulster Covenant in September,” he said.

“It should be a year to remember for visitors and local people alike, so we’d like to push to get some of these events approved before the Council as soon as possible, particularly in the case of the exhibition which is only a matter of weeks away.”

Meanwhile, a number of other Titanic events are in the pipeline for the town with a planned display in Belfast Lough by Carrickfergus Sailing Club. Management at Dobbins Inn also hope to showcase a ‘Titanic menu’ in April, giving visitors a flavour of what was on offer to the ship’s passengers in 1912.