James Farrell

Hello all. New to E. Titanica-great sight. Farrell family (USA) seeks photograph or any NEW information about James from County Longford, Ireland. My ideas are Hailafax Record Office, Queenstown Immigration Office-did passports have photo i.d.'s in 1912? or perhaps his last employer (he was a milk truck driver in Longford). Any ideas or specific addresses for the above ideas would be greatly appreciated!
 
Thomas,
Senan Molony of Dublin, Ireland published his book "The Irish Aboard Titanic" in 2000. He tried every avenue he knew to obtain a photo of James Farrell and came up emptyhanded after a thorough search of archives, record offices, and contact with family members in Ireland--also searches through contemporary newspapers proved fruitless. If you do find any on him, I'm sure Senan would be glad to know of it. He is now the editor of the quarterly of the Irish Titanic Society (White Star Journal) and the magazine is looking quite sharp now with all the changes Senan has brought about--

I'm sure he would be glad to hear from you-if you want to contact me privately I'll be glad to give you an e-mail address for him.

Regards,
Phillip
 
Hi Phillip-thanks so much for the information. You are definitely on top of your game. I cannot access your address on my system but coincidentally I ordered Senan's book last week; should I obtain a photo of Jim in the future I would be happy to forward it to Senan-although it seems he has "home court advantage" access to people and information if he is currently living in Ireland....however, never say never-TGF.
 
In the Hawaii premiere of "Titanic: A New Musical", I'll be playing Jim Farrell. I read about his bravery on the website, but there is so little information. I want to find out more about him, to do his memory justice when I am portraying him on stage. I was wondering if anybody had ANY information on his life before or during the voyage to help me out. Thanks.
 
The Irish Aboard Titanic by Senan Molony has an entry on James Farrell that might be of some assistance. Most of what is known of his actions aboard the Titanic seems to derive from material collected by Walter Lord from Kate Gilnagh, and Molony's work contains some contemporary material from the Irish Independent that refers to a letter written by Gilnagh to her father.

I'm going away for the weekend, but would be happy to send you the Molony entry when I return (if no one beats me to it).

Regards,

Inger
 
Thank you so much for the assistance. If you could send me the Molony entry, I would be most grateful. I've been looking everywhere for information on him, and I can't find anything. It is a rare thing to be able to portray an actual person who lived and died on the stage, and I want to give James Farrell the homage he deserves.

Again, thank you.

Elitei
 
No worries, Elitei - I'm back in town, so will do it this weekend. I'm so glad to see your enthusiasm for playing the role with the right spirit - all the best with it!
 
Thanks for the help, Inger. Our show closes this upcoming weekend (June 14-16), and I'm really interested in what Kate Gilnagh wrote to her father, so if I don't hear from you again, I'm going to try looking for a copy of The Irish Aboard Titanic at the local bookstores, to find the Molony entry.

Thanks again

Elitei
 
Inger,

I've also become interested in finding out more about the daily life of passengers in the third class. I've already tried looking through some of the information in the "Life on Board" section, but haven't found too much, aside from the third class menu, that would describe how the steerage passengers lived day-to-day before the accident. If you could dig up any information that you believe would be beneficial, I would greatly appreciate it.

If you've ever seen the stage production, the first time that the audience sees the third class kicking back and relaxing is in the "F" deck: Third-class Dining Saloon. Saturday April 13th, late afternoon. If I had an idea as to how the third-class lived on a daily basis, it could help with how I play Jim Farrell throughout the entire show.

Thanks again for all the help.

Elitei
 
Hallo Elitei - apologies for the delay in sending that to you...haven't had much time to devote to online activies of late. Just emailed it to you - let me know if it comes through or not.

All the best -

Inger
 
Inger,

The Molony entry you sent is unbelievable. I couldn't have asked for more. I've just opened the email and reread it twice, and I can't even begin to find the words to express my gratitude and appreciation.

I promise to use this new information to the best of my abilities to give my portrayal of Jim Farrell the justice he deserves.

Thank you again for everything.

-Elitei

PS-Occasionally, in the finale of the show, some of the cast members would feel a wave of raw emotion (Sadness, guilt, grief, etc) when the music swells and the line of survivors, with Carpathia blankets draped over their shoulders, turn to face the spirits of their lost loved ones. I've felt it many times, and I can only say that the feeling of that tidal wave of emotion as it hits you is unbelievable. We all believe that whenever we feel that wave coming on, it means that we were fully committed to our roles, and that the spirit of the people we were portraying, for just a second, washes through us.

It's a rare joy that the actor can take a small part in, to know that we have the opportunity to play out the true story of an actual person that was on the Titanic's maiden voyage.
 
I have translated the Norwegian version of the Titanic-musical, which will open at Kolbotn south of Oslo on April 27th 2010. In this connection it would be very useful to get the information by Senan Molony about James Farrell. I would be very grateful if anyone could help me getting this information.
 
Back
Top