A century ago...
On Friday, 7th May 1915, just after 2pm, Cunard liner RMS Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk just off the Cork coast.
This historic tragedy was watched from the upstairs windows of The Pink Elephant by the family living in the house at the time. The sound of the two massive explosions carried over the the calm sea and was loud enough to make horses bolt from the fields.
This year, 2015, sees the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
Opening in May is the Lusitania Museum in the restored Signal Tower on the highest point of the dramatic Old Head of Kinsale. Discover more at www.oldheadofkinsale.com.
Lusitania off the Old Head in 1911, close to where she would be sunk 4 years' later.
The view south from The Pink Elephant, showing the site of Lusitania's sinking.
Astonishingly, if sunk on end, Lusitania would stick nearly 500 feet out of the ocean.
She was 787 feet in length and was sunk in around 300 feet of water.
To find out more, see Wikipedia, or search the web for Lusitania.