Day Nineteen – Thursday, 31 May 2012

Blarney – Killarney

Weather – overcast and misty at times

Temperature – maximum 18

Our first stop for the day was Cobh (pronounced Cove) which is the cruise ship harbour to Cork.  The Heritage Centre - The Queenstown Story came highly recommended so we detoured there before making our way along the south western coast up to Killarney.  Cobh has been known by Cove, has its name changed when Queen Victoria visited and eventually settled on Cobh the Irish spelling.

Walking down to the Heritage Centre we came across this row of colourful houses!

St Colmans - a prime view of the port.

Cobh is a busy port with 50 cruise liners berthing at the docks with 100,000 passengers and crew each year.  It is Ireland’s only dedicated cruise berth.  High above this pretty sea port is St Colmans, a very large church of neo-gothic architecture.

The Heritage Centre which is housed in an old Victorian railway station traces the history of Irish immigrants to America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.  It also includes the history of the Titanic as Cobh was the last port of call for this doomed ship before it sank.  The last section dealt with the tragic sinking of the cruise ship Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915.

Alongside the esplanade are two monuments to these tragic events.  The Titanic took on 123 passengers in Cobh.  One passenger, Father Browne sailed on the ship from Southampton to Cobh and recorded many photographs showing life on the Titanic.  He was only booked to go to the Irish port however generous passengers offered to pay his way to New York.  After telegramming his superiors he was told to disembark.  Of course, this saved his life as well as preserving rare images of life on board before the Titanic sank.  Many of his black and white photographs are used in the exhibition.

Many letters were sent from Cobh as it was the last port of call before America. As the sad news unfolded of the tragedy relatives and friends were receiving postcards and letters from their loved ones.

The Lusitania was another Cunard Line cruise ship which met a terrible end on May 7 1915.  One thousand one hundred and ninety-eight people perished.  Those who survived were looked after by the town’s people.  The inscription on the memorial reads:  “To those who helped in the rescue, gave aid and comfort and who buried the dead”.

It is truly amazing how many immigrants left Ireland for better lives elsewhere particularly because of the The Potato Famine between 1847 and 1849.  The years prior to this also had poor crops so many Irish were desperate for better lives.  Between 1815 and 1970 over 3 million Irish immigrated from Ireland which surely makes you realise there are a lot of people with Irish blood all over the world!

We then took our time and spent several hours following the coastal path to Killarney.  The weather was inclement and misty in parts however the scenery was so beautiful, green and lush.  We stopped at Bantry one of many lovely towns situated along the way. 

Glengarriff was one of the many little towns on the way.

The stretch of road between Kenmare and Killarney gave lovely views over mountains and down to the valley below.  Sheep grazed with young lambs and it was all picture postcard perfect!  We have to travel this road again as we explore the Ring of Kerry so I hope I take better photos next time and the weather is sunnier!

Green!

Our accommodation was already booked in Killarney so after quickly settling in we drove into Killarney central for a meal at a pub and a walk on the streets.  It is a lively town with many tourist shops. 

Tomorrow, depending on the weather we are off to see the Ring of Kerry.