Daniel Buckley was borne on September 28th. 1890 in the village
of Boherbue, Co. Cork. He was the son of a baker Daniel Buckley,
senior, and Abigail Sullivan. They moved to Kingswilliamstown
(now Ballydesmond) in 1906 and in 1912 Daniel and some
friends decided to emigrate to America.
In those days emigration to America often ment this
was the last time somebody would ever be seen again
by those they were leaving behind. During his going
away party, Daniel is supposed to have told someone
that he would return 'when the fielde were white with
daisies.
Daniel and his friends took passage from Cobh on the
new White Star Liner RMS Titanic, which was on its maiden
voyage to New York. They had a cabin in the steerage
section near the bow. His three room-mates were Pat
O'Connell, Michael Linehan and Pat O'Connor none of
whom survived the journey.
At 11.40 pm on the night of April 14th., 1912, the Titanic
struck an iceberg, buckling the hull plates below the
waterline along the length of five watertight compartments.
It took the striken ship just 2 hours and 40 minutes
to sink. Daniel was asleep in his bunk at the time of
impact. He was woken by the noise as the iceberg grated
along the hull. He jumped out of bed to find the deck
already beginning to dampen under his bare feet. When
he tried to wake his friends they told him to 'go back
to sleep'.
Daniel dressed quickly and headed for the deck. On the
way, he witnessed another third class passenger being
thrown back down a stairwell, while two crew men locked
the gate at the top to prevent third-class passengers
getting out on deck. He later gave eyewitness evidence
of this at the US inquiry. No charges were ever brought
against any of the ship's officers or crew for locking
in the steerage passengers while the ship was sinking.
After finally making his way up on deck, he is believed
to have helped lower some of the lifeboats into the
water. He eventually managed to find refuge in one of
the lifeboats. Although other men were either chased
out of this boat or prevented from getting in to it
by ship's officers, he managed to keep his seat. A lady
from first-class threw her shawl over him, thus preventing
him from being seen. He always believed this woman to
have been Lady Astor, the wife of the richest man in
the world, although it is more likely to have been a
Mrs. Appleton.
After the survivors were rescued by the Carpathia and
brught to New York, Daniel was given a $100 relief grant
by the American Red Cross. He was the only Irish witness
to give evidence at the US Senate Inquiry into the disaster.
Between 1912 and 1917 he worked at a variety of jobs
including hotel porter. He volunteered for the US Army
on American entry into the First World War. He fought
on the Western Front, where he was wounded in April
1918. Shortly after his return to duty he was killed
by a sniper while trying to rescue a wounded comrade
on the Meuse-Argonne section of the line. The war had
less than a mont to run.
He was buried in France, then sometime later his body
was brought home to Ballydesmond for re-interment.
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