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THE QUEENSTOWN STORY
Cobh, County Cork
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Annie Moore and her two brothers |
Between 1848 and 1950 more than six million people emigrated
from Ireland to America. Two and a half million of these
people left from Cobh, pronounced Cove. During the time
of this emigration, Cobh had been renamed for Queen Victoria
in honor of her visit to Ireland in 1861, hence the name
Queenstown.
But it wasn't just the Great Famine that saw emigration
from Ireland. Between the years 1791 and 1853 over 40,000
convicts were sent to Australian penal colonies in vessels
that became known as "coffin ships." More often
than not, prisoners on these ships would die in transit.
As well, prior to boarding, prisoners were kept in Cork
Harbour on floating prisons.
Cobh/Queenstown was not only the departing point for
immigrants, it was also a port of call for other transatlantic
oceanliners. The most famous was Titanic. Though the movie
Titanic doesn't mention a stop here, as it was still called,
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Queenstown was the last port of call for this famous
oceanliner. Queenstown was the point where hundreds of
Irish emigrants boarded Titanic for its ill-fated trip
to America, most of whom didn't survive because they were
forced, due to limited finances, into steerage for the
duration of the journey.
Another oceanliner that has a history with south Cork
is the RMS Lusitania. This sister ship of Titanic was
bombed by German U-boats in 1915 during WWI. The Germans
thought this ship was carrying more than its passengers,
such as weapons, and sank the ship to keep the weapons
from reaching soldiers. 1198 people died and the ship
sank to the bottom of the sea in little more than nine
minutes. Survivors were bought ashore to Cobh. It is often
considered by historians to be the second most famous
civilian passenger liner disaster after the sinking of
Titanic. Incidentally, no weapons discovered during excavations
of the ship ruins.
Today, the Old Victorian train station, situated on harborfront,
houses The Queenstown Story, a multi-dimentional historical
telling of emigration in Ireland, which details the typical
passenger...how much it cost to travel, life on aboard
the ships and life in America. This exhibit also has displays
about Titanic and Lusitania, and the history of shipping
in Cork Harbour.
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RMS Titanic
RMS Lusitania
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St. Colman's Cathedral |
The Old Victorian Train Station also has a souvenir shop,
gift shop and cafe with a lunch only menu.
In front of the train station is an emotive sculpture
of a woman and two boys, Annie Moore and her two brothers.
They became the first emigrants to be processed at Ellis
Island in New York when it officially opened on New Years
Day in 1892. Annie and her brothers sailed in steerage
from Queenstown on the SS Nevada on a journey that lasted
just 12 days, but must have seemed like forever in the
cold and dark belly of the ship. This sculpture was unveiled
by President Mary Robinson in 1993. A similar sculpture
can be found on Ellis Island, symbolizing not just the
honor of Annie's passage through Ellis Island, but to
honor all Irish immigrants who made similar journeys.
For those emigrants who traveled from Cobh/Queenstown,
was the last thing they saw as
they left the harbor. St. Colman's dominates the Cobh
hillside with its huge bell tower, now topped by a spire.
Bells would ring until the ship exited the harbour. Today
the tradition continues. Each passenger ship and ferry
that passes through Cork Harbour will hear a bell ringing
from the cathedral. In
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turn the ship will sound its horns. This is a continuing
symbol of good luck wishes for the passage. Knowing this,
it's quite a moving experience to witness a ship or ferry
sailing passed the cathedral and hearing the bells.
Today, visitors to Cobh can take the walking tour , which follows in the footsteps of the millions
of emigrants who left Ireland through this port.
Cobh is located on Great Island and can be accessed by
a ferry across Cork Harbour from Passage West, just outside
Cork City, or by the bridge on the back of Fota Island
that passes by Fota Wildlife Park.
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~ Fee-paying attraction
~ Limited Free car parking available
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Easy access from car park, exhibition full access
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