Around Ireland: Cobh

Cobh (“Cove”) is a tiny town about 45 minutes south of Cork noted for its harbor. It was the port of embarkation for many Irish from around the country leaving for America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The harbor is well situated militarily and protected and has only one way in and out.

On January 1, 1892, Annie Moore from Cork was the first person to pass through the recently opened Ellis Island immigration center. She and her two brothers had traveled in steerage for the journey to America and settled in New York’s Lower East Side. She was the first of millions of individuals who entered through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.

Cobh’s more recent maritime history far surpasses its size. In April 1912, Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic, taking on passengers just three days before its tragic encounter with an iceberg. Many passengers arrived in Cobh by rail, stayed overnight in a rooming house, and then went to early mass at the cathedral before boarding their ship. The first class passengers were taken out to the ship by tender; other passengers were packed onto a ferry.

In May 1915, the RMS Lusitania en route to Liverpool from New York was torpedoed by the Germans off the coast of Cobh during the First World War. More than a thousand passengers on the Lusitania lost their lives, but seven hundred were rescued and survived, largely due to the efforts of the local people of Cobh. About 150 bodies were buried in a mass grave in a local cemetery. The memorial sculpture in Cobh features two mourning fishermen and an angel urging that there be peace.

Cobh is a charming town, parts of it set high on a promontory. The streets are narrow, twisty, and a challenge to navigate, especially if you’re used to driving on the right, not left. The Chief Penguin earned his stripes getting us to and from Cobh and out of the town.

We had a tour of about an hour given by historian Michael Martin. He earned his PhD at Berkeley and has spent many years researching the maritime disasters affecting Cobh. He created created this “Titanic Trail” tour. You can even see some of it on YouTube.

The town buildings have remained mostly the way they were a hundred years ago. Many facades are painted in bright solid colors. The contrast between these colors and the gray stone of St. Colman’s Cathedral, which looms above them, makes the cathedral with its detailed stone work stand out even more.

The tour covered only a short distance, but lots of history and several monuments to historic events. There is a fairly recent monument to the Titanic, but I didn’t think it was interesting enough in itself to merit a photo. Michael Martin was an excellent guide. We ended at Kelly’s Bar for Irish coffee, a chat, and copies of two of his books. A most enjoyable outing.

ADDENDUM

We would have liked to go up to St. Colman’s Cathedral to see the interior and also the Gaia (My-earth.org) exhibit in the sanctuary. It is an artwork of the globe and is a traveling exhibit. Alas, we ran out of time as we were expected at Fota House and Gardens outside Cobh.

It turned out that the tour we were to take at Fota was later than originally scheduled. We were a bit underwhelmed by the property and being concerned about traffic back to Cork, we decided not to wait around. Thanks again to Google, we successfully got out of Cobh and arrived safely back at Hayfield Manor.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)