Cobh Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020
Sculpture by Jeanne Rynhart of Annie Moore and her brothers. The sculpture broadly represents the Irish emigration experience. It assumes a place of prominence on the waterfront as Cobh was a significant port of departure for the Irish.
Cobh is a small seaport town in County Cork, Southwest Ireland. It's on Great Island in Cork Harbour. In the era of transatlantic travel it was the first and last port in Europe and it was the last port for the Titanic in 1912. It consequently played a major part in the story of Irish emigration to America. Originally known simply as "the Cove of Cork" it started life as a small fishing village but began to row rapidly when the British established naval fortifications in the area during the Napoleonic Wars. Later it was the country's largest emigration port with over 1.5 million emigrants passing through on their way to a new life, mostly in North America. In 1849 the town was renamed Queenstown following a visit by Queen Victoria but in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, the town adopted a gaelicised version of "cove" and Cobh became the town's name.
The town faces the sea in rows of terraces rising up the steep hillside, dominated by a tall and handsome 19th century St. Colman's Cathedral, designed by Pugin.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Cobh
