Cobh

Today, we drove from Cork to Cobh. Cobh was originally named Cove in 1750, renamed Queentown in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria, and then renamed Cobh in 1920 to have a Gaelic name under the Irish Free State.

Lusitana and Titantic

Cobh is a maritime port having two famous events associated with it: the last port of the White Star Line’s Titanic before its sinking in 1912 and the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The Lusitana was a Cunard passenger ship that was sunk by a German U–boat. 1,198 passengers died and 700 were rescued. Both the survivors and the dead were brought to Cobh. Dr. Michael Martin, an expert on the Lusitania, gave us a lecture on that event and also on the Titanic.

Cobh Harbor

This photo shows where the Titanic was last seen before it sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cobh

We were given some time to walk around Cobh.

Home-Hosted Lunch

We were treated to a home–hosted lunch in Cobh. Our tour was split up into groups of about six each and went to different homes. My group went to a semi–detached home in this development. Our hostess asked us questions about our life in the U.S. and we asked her questions about her life in Ireland in return. She served us a very good lunch.

I have put my photos of Cobh on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/cobh–queenstown/

(Slide Shows, Western Europe, Ireland, “Cobh (Queenstown)”).

Cork

After our visit to Cobh, we went back to Cork and had time to explore the city. I have put photos of this time in Cork with photos of the previous day in Cork on one slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/city–of–cork/

(Slide Shows, Western Europe, Ireland, “Cork: City Tour”).