Cobh, Ireland

5 min readSep 12, 2016

We needed one more look at the sea from the Irish coast so we drove south on the M8 motorway to County Cork and its port of Cobh. We learned it’s not pronounced “cob”, it’s pronounced “cove”. I don’t have a clue either, just roll with it…

The port of Cobh is full of history, most of it tragic. Of the more than six million Irish overall that emigrated due to famine and poverty between 1848 and 1950, more than 2.5 million departed through Cobh. For the vast majority, this place was the last bit of Ireland they’d ever see.

Many of the immigrants endured a perilous voyage across the Atlantic. The exhibits at the Cobh Heritage Museum vividly depicted the dire conditions including cramped ships, wicked storms, rampant sickness and death.

On April 11, 1912, Cobh (then called Queenstown) was the final port of call for the RMS Titanic before she headed across the Atlantic on her ill-fated maiden voyage. A total of 123 passengers, mostly Irish holding third-class tickets, boarded here. Only 44 survived the sinking.

One of the most haunting images in the exhibit was a final photo of the Titanic as it steamed out to sea from the Irish coast.

I’ll share a poignant story that humanizes the tragedy that cost more than 1,500 people their lives. Jeremiah Burke, a 19-year-old from Cork, boarded the Titanic here seeking a new life in Massachusetts.

Shortly before the sinking, he scribbled a note, put it in a small bottle (originally holding his holy water) and threw it into the sea.

Burke did not survive. Miraculously, more than a year after the disaster, his note washed up on shore a few miles from Cork. The note read: “From Titanic. Good Bye all. Burke of Glanmire, Cork.”

Just three years later, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat 11 miles off the coast of Cobh. Nearly 1,200 passengers and crew died, including many Irish and Americans. She went down in just 18 minutes.

The survivors and the dead alike were brought to Cobh, and the bodies of over 100 who perished in the disaster were buried in the Old Church Cemetery just north of the town. The sinking of the Lusitania was a factor in the United States’ declaration of war against Germany in World War I.

After viewing those sobering stories, we hiked up to St. Colman’s Cathedral towering above town. It was the largest and most ornate of all the churches we’ve seen in Ireland. Inside, the magnificent stained glass windows still glowed vividly on this cloudy afternoon.

Back on the street, we stood back as this tiny train full of hapless tourists tooted past. I’m so glad we are blessed to travel independently.

Here’s a shot from the gas station as I filled up our Volkswagen Polo. It has a three-cylinder engine and a stick that are good for more than 50 mpg. With unleaded at roughly $5.35 a gallon, we’ll take all the fuel economy we can get.

We couldn’t pass up another opportunity to board a ferry across the water…

We’ll leave you with a few photos from our current home in the village of Horse and Jockey. “Traffic Calming” signs warn you that you’re approaching a town and you need to slow down. We’ve also included some pics from our local pub serving breakfast and dinner.