The Lusitania Memorial Garden monument tells the story of the trans-Atlantic liner's final journey from New York to its sinking off the nearby Old Head of Kinsale and lists the names of all those on board.

The Cunarder was torpedoed by a German U-boat on 7 May, 1915, resulting in the loss of 1,193 passengers and crew. The boat davit is the largest original artefact recovered from the wreck.