In May 1915, the Cunard liner Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 off the Old Head of Kinsale on the Cork coast. One of the largest and fastest ships in the world went to the bottom in just 18 minutes, taking almost 1,200 men, women and children with her. The Titanic, famously took over two and a half hours to sink. So why did the Lusitania go down so fast? And why, within sight of the Irish coast and in relatively calm seas, did so few survive? In this video historian Fin Dwyer is joined by Shannon Forde to explore look at what really happened in those 18 minutes: the torpedo strike, the mysterious second explosion, the chaos on board and the rescue effort mounted from the fishing villages of the Cork coastline. Edit Kate Dunlea Shannon is the manager of the Lusitania and Old Head Signal Tower. To find out more https://www.oldheadofkinsale.com