Vow Renewal 2016: COBH IRELAND

Cobh (/ˈkoʊv/ KOHV, Irish: an Cóbh), known from 1850 until the late 1920s as Queenstown, is a tourist seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and is home to Ireland's only dedicated cruise terminal. Tourism in the area draws on the maritime and emigration legacy of the town - including its association with the RMS Titanic.

Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island, and on a high point in the town stands St Colman's Cathedral, one of the tallest buildings in Ireland and seat of the diocese of Cloyne.

Name

The port, which has had several Irish-language names, was first called "Cove" ("The Cove of Cork") in 1750. It was renamed "Queenstown" in 1850 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria. This remained the town's name until the late 1920s, when it was renamed Cobh by the new authorities of the Irish Free State.^[1] Cobh is a Gaelicisation of the English name Cove and it shares the same pronunciation but has no meaning in the Irish language.

History

Statue on the waterfront of Annie Moore and her brothers. Annie Moore was the first person to be admitted to the United States of America through the new immigration center at Ellis Island, New York on 1 January 1892.

19th century

International upheaval led to Cobh experiencing rapid development in the early 19th century. Due to the natural protection enjoyed thanks to its harbor setting, the town became important as a tactical center for naval military base purposes, never more so than at the time of the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain. Today, the Irish Naval Service headquarters is based on Haulbowline island facing Cobh.

The wars against the French led to the town becoming a British Naval port with its own admiral, and many of the present-day buildings date from this time. The eventual cessation of hostilities dented Cobh's prosperity for a while but it soon became known as a health resort, and many convalescents came to avail themselves of its temperate climate. Notable amongst these people was Charles Wolfe who wrote "The Burial of Sir John Moore After Corunna". Wolfe is buried in the Old Church Cemetery outside the town.

RMS Titanic

One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, the former Queenstown was the departure point for 2.5 million of the six million Irish people who immigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912, Queenstown was famously the final port of call for the RMS Titanic when she set out across the Atlantic on her ill-fated maiden voyage. She was assisted by the PS America and the PS Ireland, two ageing White Star Line tenders, along with several other smaller boats delivering first-class luggage. Local lore has it that a Titanic crew member, John Coffey, a native of Queenstown, jumped ship, although there is no record of his name on the crew list. 123 passengers boarded in all; only 44 survived the sinking.

Penal transportation

Cobh was also a major embarkation port for men, women and children who were deported to penal colonies such as Australia. The records of such deportations can be found in ships' log books in the Cobh Museum, which since 1973 has been housed in Scots church (a Presbyterian church until its 1969 closure) overlooking the harbor.

Shipbuilding

A significant shipbuilding industry was developed in the town, and the remnants of the Verolme Shipyard today maintain many of the original cranes and hoists now forming part of an industrial and maritime heritage.

The original pier (as it appeared in 2007) where passengers boarded tenders to get to the Titanic at its anchorage near the mouth of Cobh harbor. The corner of the office building of the White Star Line can be seen on the right. The building today houses a Titanic museum.

The age of steam brought association with several achievements to Cobh, most notably that of the first steam ship to sail from Ireland to England (1821) and of the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic (Sirius 1838), which left from Passage West. In 1849, the name of the town was changed to Queenstown, to honour Queen Victoria who had visited Ireland during that year.

RMS Lusitania and the First World War

A tragically notable ship to be associated with the town, the Cunard passenger liner RMS Lusitania, was sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale while en route from the US to Liverpool on 7 May 1915. 1,198 passengers died, while 700 were rescued. The survivors and the dead alike were brought to Cobh, and the bodies of over 100 who perished in the disaster lie buried in the Old Church Cemetery just north of the town. The Lusitania Peace Memorial is located in Casement Square, opposite the arched building housing the Cobh Library and Courthouse.

During First World War, Queenstown was a naval base for British and American destroyers operating against the U-boats that preyed upon Allied merchant shipping. Q-ships (heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks) were called Q-ships precisely because many were, in fact, fitted-out in Queenstown. The first division of American destroyers arrived in May 1917, and the sailors who served on those vessels were the first American servicemen to see combat duty in the war. When that first convoy arrived in port after enduring a rough passage in what were little more than open boats, its members were met by a crowd of sailors and townspeople, thankful for their anticipated help towards stopping the U-boats that were blockading western Europe. The British commodore present met the captain of the American flagship, jumping onto the dock and asking how soon the weather-beaten American ships could be put to use. "We're ready now, sir!" was the widely quoted answer from the American.

The United States Navy established the Queenstown Naval Air Station on 22 February 1918 to operate flying boats. This naval air station closed shortly after the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Due to its tactical military importance, under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty the port remained a UK sovereign base. Along with the other Treaty Ports it was handed over to the government of the Irish Free State in 1938.

Demography and people

The population of the Cobh area has increased in recent times with new housing estates established on the outskirts of the town, placing pressures on the transport infrastructure. The town boundary has not yet reflected these changes in order to accommodate the new housing developments in areas such as Rushbrooke and Carrignafoy. Cobh is gradually becoming a satellite town to the nearby Cork City, reflected in the commuter train service and the Carrigaloe–Passage car ferry.

Economy and tourism

Tourism is a large employer in Cobh. Large cruise liners visit Cobh each year, mainly during the summer months, although many of the tourists are transported out of Cobh by bus to other tourist destinations. In all, almost 100,000 cruise liner passengers and crew arrive in the town each year when their ships berth right in the centre of the town at Ireland's only dedicated cruise terminal. Tourist attractions are focused on the maritime and emigration legacy of the town and include the Queenstown Story at the Cobh Heritage Centre, Titanic Experience, Titanic Trail walking tour, Cobh Museum, Cobh Road Train, Spike Island tours and St Colman's Cathedral. The town has remained largely unchanged since RMS Titanic departed from Cork Harbour in 1912, with the streetscape and piers still much the same. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island. The latter is the headquarters of the Irish Naval Service, formerly a British naval base.

Rail

Outside of the Dublin metropolitan area, Cobh is one of the few towns in Ireland served by a commuter train service. Regular commuter services run between Cork city and Cobh, calling at, among others, Fota railway station, Carrigaloe railway station, and Rushbrooke railway station, along the way. Trains run every day and the journey time to Cork is under 25 minutes. The final train from Cork back to Cobh is 7:00pm daily. So those interested in spending a few hours in Cork might like this option.

Train schedule: http://www.irishrail.ie/fares-and-tickets/cork-cobh-midleton

Arts and culture

The Sirius Arts Centre is a hub for the arts in Cobh and is located on the waterfront. It hosts cultural events and music concerts both in-house and around Cobh.

Cobh was the setting for the 2009 Connor McPherson film The Eclipse and also used as a filming location for the 1999 movie Angela's Ashes.

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