How you can use this image
This image is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC).
This image can be reproduced in any way apart from any commercial uses.
Wherever you reproduce the image or an altered version of it, you must attribute the original creators (acknowledge the original artist(s), the person/organisation that took the photograph of the work) and any other stated rights holders.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find more images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
DownloadNotes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
A bust of the older William James Pirrie, wearing a double-breasted jacket, with bow tie and handkerchief in his breast pocket. The bust sits atop a bronze plinth that sits on a stone base. The memorial was once sited in the Belfast City Cemetery where Pirrie and his wife are both interred. After suffering damage, it was removed to storage. After undergoing restoration in 2005, it was re-sited to City Hall, and installed onto a new base. The memorial was official unveiled at the new site on 31st May 2006, the 159th anniversary of Pirrie's birth. Pirrie was Managing Director of the Harland and Wolff shipyard. Together with Bruce Ismay, Chairman of the White Star Line, he developed the plans for the ships, 'Olympic' and 'Titanic'. During the restoration in 2005 two additional plaques were affixed either side of the plinth.
Title
William James Pirrie (1847–1924), 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC (Ire.)
Date
1924
Medium
bronze & Portland stone
Accession number
BT1_MO_S004
Acquisition method
commissioned by Margaret M. Pirrie, his wife
Work type
Bust
Owner
Belfast City Council
Custodian
Belfast City Council
Work status
extant
Access
at all times
Inscription description
In Loving and Most Grateful Memory of my Beloved Husband; to front of bronze plinth – heraldic crest with scrolled motto: DEEDS NOT WORDS; followed by the text: IN LOVING AND MOST GRATEFUL MEMORY OF / MY BELOVED HUSBAND / WILLIAM JAMES PIRRIE / 1ST VISCOUNT KP. P.C. HML. / BORN 31ST MAY 1847 - DIED 7TH JUNE 1924. / ONLY SON OF / JAMES ALEXANDER PIRRIE AND ELIZA SWAN MONTGOMERY / MARRIED 17TH APRIL 1879 MARGARET M. CARLISLE / DAUGHTER OF JOHN CARLISLE AND CATHERINE MONTGOMERY / HE ENTERED QUEENS ISLAND AS AN APPRENTICE 23 JUNE 1862 / 62 YEARS LATER ON 23RD JUNE 1924 HE WAS LAID TO REST HERE. / AS CHAIRMAN OF MESSRS HARLAND & WOLFF'S VAST ORGANIZATION / FOR SO MANY YEARS HE BY HIS OWN CHEERFUL SERVICE AND / WIDE EXPERIENCE PROVED AN INSPIRATION TO THE MANY / FELLOW-WORKERS IDENTIFIED WITH HIM IN THE EVOLUTION / OF SHIPBUILDING. IT WAS HIS JOY TO RECOGNIZE THEIR / LOYALTY AND ALLEGIANCE. ON ALL SEAS THE SHIPS THAT / SAIL TESTIFY TO THE GREAT BENEFITS HIS GENIUS CONFERRED / ON MANKIND. HE SPENT HIS LIFE ENDEAVOURING TO BE USEFUL / IN HIS DAY AND GENERATION AND WAS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED / ALWAYS WITH THE PROGRESS OF AND CHARITIES IN THIS CITY / HERE ALSO RESTS / MARGARET M. CARLISLE / WIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES VISCOUNT PIRRIE K.P. / BORN 31ST MAY 1857 - DIED 19TH JUNE 1935 / She was the devoted companion and helpmate of her husband / always interested in and sharing his life work during the 47 years / they were together; and promoting with boundless energy / and enthusiasm, plans for the welfare of others - a truly / lovable women she endeared herself to all who knew her. / Thrice blest and more whom vows unbroken bind, / Whose love is ne'er of jarring moods the slave, / Yea! nobly blest, to whom tis given to find / Devotion steadfast even to the end.
Donegall Square, Belfast
BT1 5GS
-
William James Pirrie (1847–1924), 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC (Ire.) -
A Little Country Lass Williamson Art Gallery & Museum -
Welsh National War Memorial -
Mother and Child National Museum Cardiff -
Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas (1863–1940) Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales -
Viscountess Margaret Montgomery Carlisle Pirrie (1857–1935), Lady Mayoress of Belfast (1896–1897), President of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast (1914–1935) The Royal Hospitals -
Amitie National Museum Cardiff - 2 more