Titanic couples: Neal and Eileen McNamee by ric gustafson
Neal McNamee's boss, Sir Thomas Lipton created the Lipton tea brand. Neal was born in Convoy near Donegal Ireland. Later in life, he began working for Lipton in Salisbury England. There he met Eileen O Leary and fell in love with her right away. She had dark wavy hair, dark eyes and petite features that attracted him. He proposed to her right away and she accepted. At that time, Neal's boss Sir Thomas Lipton recommended that he become a general manager at his New York store. He accepted and bought third class tickets on the Titanic for their honeymoon.
They were assigned to a two berth cabin and enjoyed their time onboard with other passengers. The third class dining room had individual chairs to sit, stewards serving and plenty of good food including soups, stews, desserts and breads. There was a meeting room where passengers could sit and write and two bars for the male passengers. In the evening, they enjoyed listening some piano playing and Irish dancing in the meeting room.
On the evening of April 14, they were returning to their room when the ship struck an iceberg. It is not known what happened to the couple. No one reported seeing them on deck and there is no record of what happened to them that dreadful night. Eileen's body was recovered and she was wearing a blue flannel petticoat and a white sailor blouse. Neal's body was never found. There is a plaque and bench dedicated to the couple in a Salisbury park.
The End- dedicated to Tom E
research help: ' Titanic Love Stories' by Gill Paul
Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric
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