Today in Irish History: 1915 The passenger liner Lusitania is torpedoed and sunk ten miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Cork by a German U-boat resulting in the death of 1,198 of the ship’s passengers and crew. Only 761 people survived what the United States and Britain saw as a flagrant breach of international law. The death of 124 US citizens turned much US opinion against Germany. A debate has raged since as to whether the ship was a legitimate target. Although denied by Britain at the time, the ship almost certainly was carrying munitions which the passengers would not have been aware of and who definitely had no idea the ship might be a target. The sinking of the Lusitania was a tragedy for those who died. For Germany, it was a PR disaster. Today, the ship lies 90 metres below the water, 10 miles from the Old Head of Kinsale. The death of the 124 American passengers in the tragedy is regarded by many as one of the major reasons why the US entered World War I.