HISTORY:
ST COLMANS CATHEDRALS:
Location: Back to top
Located 15miles east of Cork City, ( 24km (15 miles) SE of Cork City ).
The urban area of Cobh has a population in excess of 6,700.
Brief History: Back to top
Cobh and the surrounding area in East Cork takes in the Cork harbour's Great Island, Fota Island, Little Island and the adjacent land across the water at Passage West , Monkstown.
The town of Cobh which was developed in the 19th century was once the main emigration point for people sailing to North America. Emigration was rampant throuhout this era when young Irish men and women had to travel across the Atlantic ocean to escape the Great Famine in appalling coditions aboard vessels that weren't even sea worthy,these so called ships were conveniately called"Coffin Ships". Vessels containing various types of convicts also set sail from Cobh,conditions on these vessels were appalling and diseases was rampant with many never seeing land again.
Famous Vessels: Back to top
More famous vessels also docked in the port of Cobh, among them were the Titanic, which sank in 1912, and the Lusitania, which was torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale in 1915.
During the Napoleonic Wars, 300 naval and commercial ships were anchored off of Cobh. The harbor was the last port of call for the great liner, Titanic, before its ill-fated voyage in April of 1912. The vessel, Lusitania, was torpedoed in May of 1915 by a German submarine near Cobh, and many of the victims of the sinking were also laid to rest in the Old Church cemetery.
The activity of this once busy seaport is past and is now preserved through memorials and exhibits. Leisure and tourism for the area have been developed extensively with world class golf clubs, excellent accommodation, water sports, historical attractions, gardens and wildlife parks.
To mark the visit of Queen Victoria in 1849, Cobh was renamed Queenstown and remained that until 1920. The town was the country's principal port of call for transatlantic ocean liners and became the location from which over 2.5 million Irish citizens emigrated from Ireland between 1845 and 1960 aboard early steamers and, later, great ocean liners.
St. Colman's Cathedral dominates the town as it is situated on a hill overlooking the town and harbor. It was built in the form of a Latin Cross, the exterior of granite and limestone. It is French Gothic architecture and took 47 years to build (1868-1915). The carillon is the largest in Ireland with 47 bells. It is a beautiful cathedral! Don't miss a walk up the hill and through this beautiful structure.
