Blogs from County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 2

Cobh is a beautiful, colourful town steeped in history in county Cork. The port, which has had three names was first called “Cove” in 1750. It was renamed by the British as “Queenstown” in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria to Ireland. In 1921 when the Irish Free State was established the name was changed to Cobh, in its Irish form. One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, the town was the departure point for 2.5 million of the six million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. A beautiful day with blue skies overhead but with some sad stories about Cobn. The last port of call of that fatal voyage of Titanic in 1912. The history of immigration & deportation leaving from this famous port to different parts of ... read more

Donderdag 29/8/2019 – Bezoek aan Cobh (spreek uit als 'köf), klein stadje, met natuurlijke haven ten zuiden-oosten van Cork. Gedurende de hele emigratieperiode vertrokken van hieruit 2,5 miljoen van de 6 miljoen Ieren die tussen 1848 tot 1950 het land verlieten. Ook was deze haven de laatste aanlegplaats van de Titanic in 1912 waar de laatste passagiers bij inscheepten op zijn allerlaatste reis. In 1915 werd de SS.Lusitania hier op 16km van de kust door een Duitse U-boot gekelderd waarbij 1200 passagiers het leven lieten. Een vloot van reddingsboten van hieruit gelanceerd konden nog 761 opvarenden redden. Overal in het kleine stadje wordt men herinnerd aan deze 3 dramatisch historische toestanden. Zelfs het weer is hier triestig. Dreigende grijze wolken, veel wind en 18° die aanvoelen zoals decemberweer bij ons. Opwarming van het klimaat, niets van ... read more

August 18, 2019 – Cobh (Cork), Ireland – Weather: 64°F/18°C, clear sunny morning, mix of sun and cloud for the rest of the day, sprinkling of rain in am, wind 19.5 mph, humidity 59° As we entered the harbour of Cobh, pronounced Cov, and one of Ireland’s largest natural harbours the sky was clear and a full moon shone over our heads. Cobh serves as the port for Cork and the surrounding area. Cork, the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland, lies slightly inland on the banks of the River Lee and takes its name from corcaigh, the Gaelic word for marshy. From its origins in the 7thcentury through to the 19thcentury Cork has flourished as a merchant center. Cobh, as the port provided Cork with a gateway to the world’s markets. It also ... read more

By Monday, June 3 we had travelled from Connemara to the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry to Killarney. This was a great tour! We were definitely seeing all of Ireland's highlights as the trip had advertised. The weather was variable; luckily we had another sunny morning at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, but rain and fog continued to pursue and finally enclose us like clockwork at least every afternoon. Killarney was my favorite city in Ireland. Our hotel, the Killarney Towers Hotel, was right in the middle of town, jammed in among pubs, shops and restaurants, offering us the freedom to walk around in that city whenever we wanted, daytime or night; everything was right there close at hand. Diagonally across the street from our hotel was a chocolate shop with a most ... read more

Day 09 Today was exciting, in that we were on the trail of some family members dating from late 1800’s to 1900’s. Gail, Mike’s wife, has gathered much information from public census records, immigration records, deportation notices, marriage records, some death records, family notes on several DNA sites where users have entered family information. After breakfast, we headed for Cork, where the many of the family lived. We thought we would check some churches which might have records that are not online. We found the church were several of the family were baptized, but today is Wednesday, and the office is open Tuesday and Thursday. I don’t think they would have many records, since most records were burned during uprisings, or conquering attempts. St. Fin Barre’s church is where my Great Grandmother and father went to ... read more