Athlone actor currently starring in BBC series 'Titanic Sinks Tonight'

An Athlone actor is currently starring in 'Titanic Sinks Tonight', a dramatised television documentary which recounts the ship's ill-fated 1912 voyage.

Kiltoom native Rhys Mannion plays the role of Jack Thayer, an actual 17-year-old American passenger on the Titanic who managed to survive the transatlantic disaster.

The first of a four part series aired on BBC2 last night (Sunday) with remaining episodes to be broadcast nightly at 9pm on the UK channel concluding on New Year's Eve.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent in advance of the series being broadcast, the former Athlone Community College student said the filming process was "absolutely fantastic".

"I portray Jack Thayer, who was one of the youngest members to be in first class on the Titanic," he said.

"He travelled with his mother and father and unfortunately his father passed away on the Titanic. His mother survived, and Jack... jumped off the boat. He didn't get into a lifeboat, because after the age of about 14, they were all deemed men.

"He survived in the water on one of the collapsible boats, just clinging on, until he was picked up by the Carpathia."

The series produced by Stellify Media for BBC Factual and BBC Northern Ireland, relives the Titanic story through the experiences and personal testimony of the passengers and crew who were there.

A son of Ciaran and Mary Mannion, Rhys has had roles in recent years in the Irish film It Is In Us All, the Anthony Hopkins movie Freud's Last Session, the Amazon Prime film, Silver and the Book of Dreams and an upcoming Irish vampire film called Feed.