Re-Launching The Titanic, But Will It Float

One hundred years ago, the Titanic sank and shortly thereafter, so did the British Empire. More first class passengers than steerage passengers survived, but their privileged way of life went down as well.

There are countless stories from the famous sinking, of heroism and cowardice both.

All those stories are being re-told, and none is being spoken more loudly than that of the city of Belfast.

A new tourist center has opened on the site of the old Harland and Wolff shipyard where the doomed liner was designed and built. With all the buzz surrounding the Titanic's anniversary, it's hoped that people will come to the north of Ireland, a section of the island that has long been plagued by religious intolerance and outright bigotry.

And then there were The Troubles, of course, and no one with any sense would go to visit a city under siege.

They trotted out 105-year-old Cyril Quigley, who watched the launching of the Titanic as a very young child. He was the guest of honor when a Protestant and a Catholic jointly opened Titanic Belfast.

A joint public-private partnership, the museum was built to bring in tourists and the money that falls off them as they pass through. The Titanic has long loomed large, generating a blockbuster movie, traveling exhibits of artifacts, and a lasting interest in the ship, its passengers, and that fateful night.

Will the interest last?

England has long subsidized Northern Ireland, which hasn't been a ship-building powerhouse for a long, long time. The problem is, England is short on cash and money has to come from somewhere else besides London. Hence, an investment in a museum dedicated to a posh ocean liner that fell victim to hubris and human error.

Considering a trip? Don't forget, Dublin is only ninety miles away and once you've eyeballed the scale model of the wreck, you can be in the tasting room at Jameson's distillery in no time.