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Cobh

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Coordinates: 51°51′N, 8°18′W

Cobh
An Cóbh

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
51°51′04″N 8°17′48″W / 51.851, -8.2967

Irish Grid Reference
W793666

Statistics

47 m (154 ft}

Population (2006)
- Town:
- Rural:

6,517
6,370

Website: www.cobh.ie

Cobh Irish: An Cóbh. Pronounced "cove" and derived from English. Cobh is a seaport on the south coast of Ireland, in County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

The locality, which had had several different Irish-language names, was first referred to as Cove ("The Cove of Cork") in 1750. It was renamed Queenstown in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria and so remained until the name Cobh (closer to the Irish spelling) was restored in 1922 with the foundation of the Irish Free State.

Cobh is located on the south shore of the Great Island in Cork Harbour, (reputed to be the second largest natural harbour in the world), on slopes overlooking the harbour. On its highest point stands the Cobh Cathedral, St. Colman's, seat of the diocese of Cloyne.

1 History of Cobh port
2 Demography
3 Economy
4 Transport and communications
5 Cobh today
6 Arts and Festivals
7 People
8 Sport
9 Twin towns
10 See also
11 External links
12 References

Statue on the waterfront of Annie Moore and her brothers. Annie Moore was the first person to be admitted to the United States of America through the new immigration centre at Ellis Island, New York on 1 January, 1892.

One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, Cobh was the departure point for 2.5 million of the six million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912 Queenstown was the final port of call for the RMS Titanic as she set out across the Atlantic on her ill-fated maiden voyage. Local lore has it that a Titanic crew member John Coffey, a native of Queenstown, jumped ship although there is no record of him on the crew list. Seven lucky passengers also disembarked, although 113 boarded, many of whom drowned.

The original pier (as it appeared in 2007) that passengers used to board ferries to get to the Titanic—which was anchored outside Cobh harbor.

Several other notable ships are associated with the town:

The first steamship to sail from Ireland to England left Cobh in 1821
The RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat off the Old Head of Kinsale while en route to Liverpool in on May 7, 1915. The survivors were brought to the town of Cobh, and over one hundred lie buried in the Old Church Cemetery about a mile north of the town.

During World War I, Queenstown was a naval base for British and American destroyers operating against U-boats that preyed upon merchant vessels in the area. The first division of American destroyers arrived in May 1917, and the sailors who served on those vessels were the first American servicemen in combat duty in the war. When the convoy arrived in port, after a rough passage in what were little more than open boats, they were met with a great crowd of sailors and townspeople, thankful for help in stopping the U-boats that threatened to starve the British out of the war. The impatient British Commodore met the captain of the American flagship when he jumped onto the dock, and asked him how soon the weather-beaten American ships could be put to use. "We're ready now, sir!" he answered, and was widely quoted. Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 the port remained a UK sovereign base, see Treaty Port. Along with the other Treaty ports it was handed over to the government of the Irish Free State in 1938.

The Camber

The population of the Cobh area has increased greatly in recent times with large new housing estates on the outskirts of the town, especially around Rushbrooke. The town boundary has not reflected these changes. According to the 2006 Census, the combined population of Cobh and Great Island was 12,887. The former farmlands of Cobh have been extensively developed in recent years, with a large amount of housing estates being built in areas such as Rushbrooke and Carrignafoy. Cobh is gradually becoming a satellite town to the nearby Cork City.

Cathedral of St. Colman

Haulbowline Island which faces Cobh town is the headquarters of the Irish Naval Service, formerly a British naval station.
Cobh was home to Ireland's only steelworks, the former state-owned Irish Steel works which was closed by its buyer, Ispat International, in 2001 [1].
Tourism is a huge employer in Cobh, with large cruise liners stopping at Cobh each summer.
Another important employer in Cobh had been the Dutch owned Verolme Cork Dockyard, in Rushbrooke. It opened in 1960 and ceased operations in the mid-1980s. In 1981 the Leinster was built at Verolme for service on the Dublin – Holyhead route [2] The last ship built at Verolme was the Irish Naval Service's LÉ Eithne (P31) [3]. Some ship repair work is still carried at Rushbrooke using the impressive drydock and other facilities. The drydock pumps are reputed to date from 1912.

The town is the effective southern terminus of the railway line from Dublin to Cork. Regular commuter services run between Cork city and Cobh, calling at, amongst others, Fota railway station,Carrigaloe railway station and Rushbrooke railway station, along the way, the line ends at Cobh railway station, which opened on 10 March 1862 and was closed for goods traffic on 3 November 1975.^[1]
Nearest airport Cork International Airport
The Port Operations Centre for Cork Harbour is located in the town including the Harbour pilot base at the Camber.

The waterfront at Cobh

Leisure and commercial activities have improved in recent years:

New Supermarkets and Shopping Centres have been developed due to an influx in population.
The re-development of the derelict Cobh Leisure Centre and the Plateau Youth Centre.
There are also plans to build a new marina in front of the town.

The main hub for the arts in Cobh is the Sirius Arts Centre located on the waterfront. It hosts many cultural events both in house and around Cobh.
The Cobh Peoples Regatta is held every year around August. It is the cultural highlight of the Summer. The event traditionally includes on-stage performances from local musicians and performers as well as a Cobh pageant to decide the Queen of Cobh for the coming year. The festival ends every year with a fireworks display over the Harbour at midnight.

Famous Cobh people include the following:-

Jack Doyle boxer, actor and crooner
Dr. James Roche Verling who was personal physician to Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile in St. Helena
Captain Thomas Brierley who was awarded a medal for outstanding gallantry for his heroic part in the rescue of Lusitania victims.
Robert Forde (1875-1959) Antarctic explorer
Maeve Higgins, comedian.
Freddie White, singer / songwriter

Cobh's most successful football team is Cobh Ramblers, the club where Roy Keane (arguably the best European midfielder of recent times) made his name and earned a transfer to English side Nottingham Forest, as well as were current Irish international footballer and Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland started his career.
Cobh is also home to Ireland's most successful athlete Sonia O'Sullivan, an Olympic Games Silver Medal-winning athlete.
Cobh Golf Club have a 9-hole golf course at the east end of Cobh. However in January 2008 work will start on a new 18-hole championship course for Cobh Golf Club at Marino on the main road (R-624) into Cobh.