Nomadic unveiled as star attraction

Local & National

Titanic's 'little sister' docks at Odyssey for Easter festivities

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

By Linda McKee

Fans of the legendary Titanic hope to board her little sister this weekend and find out what she looks like inside.

SS Nomadic will be at the centre of an exciting programme of Easter events run by Titanic Nomadic Convention and the Odyssey Arena - including the chance to win an oil painting of the Titanic worth £4,000 by Irish artist William Mulhall.

There have been some difficulties in finding a suitable berth where members of the public will be able to climb aboard, but the Nomadic Preservation Trust says it is doing everything in its power to make sure the ship docks at the Odyssey Arena this Saturday.

Chairman Dennis Rooney said: "There may be limited access, subject to tides.

"The trust is working feverishly to try and get her open for Saturday."

In the past few months, the ship that once carried first-class passengers onto the Titanic has been a hive of activity as volunteers worked for hours on end to get the vital restoration work completed.

The Harland & Wolff-built ship was bought at auction in Paris and brought back to the city of her birth in July last year.

And for the first time, the public will be able to board Nomadic this weekend and satisfy their curiosity as to what lies beyond the gangplanks.

The Odyssey Pavilion has also organised a free Easter competition, offering the chance to win a portrait of the Titanic worth over £4,000.

The oil on canvas painting was created by Irish artist William Mulhall.

"I am delighted to be associated with this year's Easter family fun activity in the pavilion," he said.

"When I was approached about painting the Titanic I jumped at the chance - I find the subject matter absolutely fascinating."

The portrait is on display in the Odyssey Art Gallery and customers can enter the competition by filling in one of the free entry leaflets in any of the pavilion outlets.

The pavilion will also host a huge body of art work created by school children who took part in this year's Titanic schools art competition, as well as artwork from the Sunday Railings project.

Peter Curistan, chairman of the Sheridan Group, said: "The Sunday Railings at the Odyssey Pavilion is an idea taken from the Railings at Merrion Square in Dublin.

"Most European cities have a very successful art market, so why not Belfast?

"The popularity of the Sunday slot has grown so much that we decided to showcase the province's local talent as part of our Easter programme of family fun."

The pavilion will also host family fun activities, as well as a special showing of Titanic in 3D at Storm Cinema.

On Easter Sunday, Bar Seven will run a special Easter menu with entertainment and on Easter Monday it will host the 70s and 80s Remix disco.

How all hands were on deck for the restoration

The restoration of SS Nomadic has become one of Ulster's hottest volunteering projects, according to Voluntary Service Bureau (VSB).

Scores of public sector workers are putting their names forward to help revamp the ship that once carried first-class passengers onto the Titanic.

Julie Cusick, corporate affairs manager with VSB, said the project has been inundated with volunteers to restore Nomadic to the condition of her glory days at the turn of the century.

Since work started earlier this year, up to 80 staff from the Department of Social Development and the Inland Revenue have rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in, and another 36 are due to come and work on board over the next 10 days.

"It's really a popular project so word of mouth has been working. The whole thing has completely snowballed," Julie said.

"It's more because of the historical link and the fact that it's a very Belfast-oriented project. I think people want to be involved in a bit of their own local history."

People are also enthusiastic about the fact that Nomadic will end up being berthed in Belfast as a visitor attraction featuring a museum and coffee shop.

"In years to come, people will be able to say 'I helped get this together'," Julie said.

VSB marked its 40th anniversary by inviting the Lord Mayor of Dublin to visit the project yesterday along with a group of volunteers from the Republic.

The Lord Mayor was welcomed to breakfast at Belfast City Hall by Belfast's Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy and later visited the Nomadic at Barnetts Dock to see how the volunteers are getting on.

"The Nomadic is really keen to establish links with the South because of the Titanic leaving from the Cobh of Cork," Julie said.

"Everybody wants to claim a wee bit of it."