Wednesday April 30

Cobh, Ireland

We had arrived in Cobh, Ireland by the time we got up this morning. Cobh is in County Cork and not too far from the town of Cork. My grandmother Cousins always said that her fore fathers came from County Cork in Ireland. There are lots of Collins's in the area but could find any Staceys.

After breakfast we walked around the downtown area of Cobh(the Irish spelling for Cove) and took in the sights as seen in some of the photos below. Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic before it left for North America. The Titanic didn't dock in Cobh as it anchored a little offshore and took on 120+ passengers as well as a lot of mail for America. There is a little museum to the Titanic in Cobh too.

There is a beautiful Catholic church called St. Colman's Cathedral which we visited before mass started at 10:00am as we had an excursion scheduled for 11:00am to Spike Island which is the site of an old Castle or Fort that was used for centuries to protect against attack from outsiders. Throughout the years it has served as not only a military fort but as a jail as well. You can see that in the photos below.

We had a really busy day and arrived back on board at around 4:00 and got ready for dinner at 6:00. This evening we had pea soup with ham as an appetizer and beef bourguignon as the main course. For desert I had creme brule while Gladys had bananas foster. The server also brought along a kind of coffee rule for us to they too. And the waiter brought us a serving of pasta with gorgonzola cheese and dried tomatoes to try as well. It was all good and we are quite full now as we wait for our show to start at 9:00pm.

Photo taken from high up in the town with the Cruise ship in the background.

Cobh from the ship.

Cobh from Spike Island.

Streets of Cobh. Kind of reminds you of St. John's with the many coloured town houses.

Monument to the Titanic. Notice the wreaths from the recent memorial service.

Mural to the Titanic.

The Navigator

A monument to both the Merchant Marine and Royal Navy - one that both our fathers would have appreciated. 

St. Colman's Cathedral

Cathedral from another angle.

Inside the church - middle aisle.

Inside the church - a side aisle.

Spike Island

These are a few photos taken from inside the fort which covered 23 acres. It's difficult to know that it is a fort because of the way it was designed. The ground was built up to the height of the walls so it took any impact from shelling.

Getting her prisoner mug shot taken.

Arrested for "Looking so good!"

In trouble again!

Ferry to Spike Island.

Over view of Spike Island.

View of one side of the compound!

View from the other side of the compound.

One of 2 large cannons which has been restored!

Prison cell!

Aother cell!

Little Nellie - responsible for children receiving Holy Communion around 6 years of age. Mrs. Brennan and mom would have loved little Nellie.