A boy was dying.
So he wrote home.
As the Titanic sank beneath him,
19-year-old Jeremiah Burke did one last thing.
He wrote a goodbye.
Sealed it in a bottle.
And threw it into the freezing Atlantic.
A year later, it came back.
Three miles from his mother’s front door.
Jeremiah was a farm boy.
Second youngest of eight.
Leaving Ireland for the first time, chasing work, chasing hope.
His mother, Bridget, pressed a small bottle of holy water into his hand.
“Keep this with you,” she said. “For protection.”
He boarded the Titanic at Queenstown—third class, steerage, deep in the ship.
Like so many Irish emigrants, he carried everything he owned inside his coat.
April 14, 1912. 11:40 p.m.
The iceberg struck.
Quietly. Almost politely.
By the time steerage passengers understood what was happening,
most lifeboats were already gone.
Gates meant to “separate classes” stayed closed.
Crew with keys never came back.
The ship that promised opportunity became a trap.
Somehow—no one knows how—Jeremiah reached the open deck.
He saw the ocean.
He saw there was no way out.
The water was 28°F.
Minutes to live.
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out the holy-water bottle.
He found a scrap of paper.
A pencil.
And in the final moments of his life,
as the greatest ship on earth tilted into the sea,
he wrote:
“From Titanic, goodbye all,
Burke of Glanmire, Cork.”
He emptied the bottle.
Rolled the note.
Tied it with his bootlace.
And threw it toward home.
At 2:20 a.m., the Titanic broke apart.
Jeremiah Burke vanished into the Atlantic.
No body.
No grave.
Only silence.
A man walking the shoreline found a bottle.
Weathered. Salt-scarred.
A bootlace still tied around its neck.
Inside: a message.
Three miles from the Burke family cottage.
When Bridget saw the handwriting, she knew.
Her son had come home the only way he could.
For nearly a century, the family kept the bottle private.
Too sacred. Too painful.
In 2011, Jeremiah’s niece donated it to the Cobh Heritage Centre,
the very place he last stepped onto the Titanic.
It sits there now.
Behind glass.
One of only two confirmed message-in-a-bottle notes from the Titanic.
Jeremiah didn’t write about fear.
He didn’t ask for help.
He wrote his name.
And his home.
Because when everything else is sinking,
that’s what matters.
Not the ship.
Not the disaster.
Connection.
Being remembered.
Love finding its way back.
Jeremiah Burke
Born 1893 — Glanmire, Cork
Died April 15, 1912 — North Atlantic
Age 19
His body was never recovered.
But his words came home.
And more than a century later,
they’re still traveling.
Still saying goodbye.
Still reminding us:
Love knows the way.
To receive free email notification, when we post new articles like this, sign up below. Clever Journeys does & will not sell or share your information with anyone.
IN GOD WE TRUST
Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack
CLICK HERE for GREEN PASTURE BENEFITS
Use Code CLEVER10 for a 10% discount on Green Pasture products today!
☆☆☆☆☆
ASEA Wellness
Fueled on Human Potential
Immune Support: Supports cellular health and normal immune function.
Heart Health: Helps maintain healthy circulation and vascular function.
Brain Function: Supports mental clarity and helps reduce oxidative stress.
Digestive Support: Supports digestive enzyme activity and nutrient uptake.
Hormone & Mood Balance: Helps maintain healthy energy and mood signaling.
For more information on ASEA products click here or contact Elizabeth Hajek at 210-779-0994.
Books
☆☆☆☆☆
Clever Journeys 
Wow my heart sank reading this sweet note and the love he had. I can’t imagine that fateful night and the distress
Two of the most profound ships sinking still makes me speechless and filled with sorrow when the anniversary dates roll around. The Titanic and The Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Titanic and the Hand of God
10 May 2010
“Last night I was in the kitchen watching the film Titanic (1997, directed by James Cameron). I probably watched the first hour of the film when Susie walked in. She said that she had seen the film before. Susie then said something very interesting. She said that John’s (her husband) grandfather was in England in 1912 and had bought a ticket to America. He was supposed to leave on the Titanic, but at the last moment, he gave his ticket to someone else. Wow! And, of course, that individual probably perished when the Titanic hit the iceberg and sank. The Lord obviously preserved John’s grandfather for a reason.
“John’s grandfather was a French Basque and he eventually made it to America. He ended up here in the Cedarville, California area. He was sponsored by a rancher and worked as a sheepherder. In my hitchhiking travels, I know that there are a lot of people of Basque descent in Nevada and Idaho.
“Back to the Titanic film. There was this scene at the beginning where this wealthy family was getting ready to board the Titanic. This young man was bragging about the greatness of the Titanic and said that God himself couldn’t sink her. A few days later, the Titanic was lying on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Pride comes before a fall.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my gosh, this gave me chills. What a bittersweet moment for his mother. Thanks for sharing. JK
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hope you are doing well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing and beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person