Wednesday June 05, 2024 – Cobh, Ireland
Cobh was called Cove under British Rule, them Queenstown after the visit of Queen Victoria and when Ireland became independent it reverted to Cove, but spelled in Irish Cobh. It is a nce town by the river and a few kilometers away from Cork, a major city with hundreds of International companies due to the 12% Corporate Tax Rate. Apple alone has a major manufacturing center employing some 6,000 people. The other reason for the prosperity of the city is the University with its 20,000 students, feeding the IT and Technology industries in general.
We docked Port to Dock and within a short walk one is in the town of Cobh with its bars, restaurants, shops and spectacular Cathedral. However, more on that later. We found our Coach 5 as we were doing the tour of Blarney Castle and they threw in an Irish Coffee after kissing the Blarney Stone. The guide – Veronica and Driver Thomas were excellent and we were soon off going straight to Blarney castle as she pointed out places along the scenic country route. One place that would be worth exploring on another occasion is the wildlife reserve where breeding of some 130 different species of rare and endangered species and reared, bred, nurtured and released and is open to the public as an attraction. This is FOTA Wildlife Park (www.fotawildlife.ie).
Blarney castle (8 miles from Cork – Phone 021438-5252; info@blarneycastle.ie; http://www.blarneycastle.ie; open year round 9-5, a bit later in the summer) and gardens stretches over 60 acres and the first structure to be built here in the 10th century was a wooden hunting lodge. Around 1210 a stone structure was built , which was demolished and the foundations in 1446, Dermot McCarthy built the Tower House or Fortress Residence is what we know today as Blarney Castle. The Blarney stone’s origin is not clear. Some believe it to be Jacob’s Pillow, brought to Ireland by the Prophet Jeremiah. It became the seat on which kings were crowned. Others prefer the story that Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster sent four thousand men in support of Robert the Bruce to the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 in which he defeated the English. The stone was a gift. Years later a witch was saved from drowning in the lake on the property and she granted or revealed its sacred powers to the McCarthys. Whatever the origin, it was place high above the castle on the outside ramparts, where it is today and if you have the nerve to kiss it, you will be endowed with the gift of eloquence. I say the nerve as the first part is to climb over 100 very narrow steps in a narrow circular pattern which is highly claustrophobic. Once you start there is no way out other than going to the top and down a separate staircase. Towards the top the inner part of the stair is barely an inch or so wide and the outside is wide enough for a foot sideways. A rope attached to the wall is the only thing that saves you from falling and knocking over, like ten pin bowling, all the others making the track behind you. Waits of 90 minutes from the entrance to the stone at the top are not uncommon. You have now completed the easy part of the experience. The view from the top of the castle is spectacular. As you make your way around the parapet walk towards the stone you start seeing the reason for the concern. To kiss the Blarney Stone, you have to lie down on your back, hold onto metal railings. That are on the outer parapet wall, then shimmy your body so that about half – the top pathfinders to the waist – is stretched out over the wall and down the outside wall with a 90 foot (27 meter) drop to the stone below, then reach out and under the external wall to kiss the stone. In fairness, there is a man helping to keep you “safe”, holding the legs that are still on “solid ground”!!! Once kissed, you still need the energy to pull yourself back from hanging over the wall, to get your entire body back onto the narrow parapet wall and eventually to the stairs leading you back down to the ground. Not for the giant-hearted, but if you can do it, a major achievement and “item off your bucket-list”. Today, Anne went to the top and lay down, but as her body started to go over the parapet wall, she felt she had reached her comfort zone and returned to the safety of the strobe parapet. A terrific effort and in my opinion counts as kissing the Blarney Stone. Roger climbed the first few steps, then decided, just at the “make or break point of no-return” to forego the climb and kiss, staying on the ground. In all fairness, I have done it twice before in my life and was quite happy not to do it again.
Once Anne was safely back on land, we wandered through the gardens, which are beautiful and can easily entertain you for a day, back to the parking area where we enjoyed an Irish coffee and browsed through the shops.
The 2+ hours spent there went by very quickly and once back on the coach, we were thankful to our guide who had suggested we make a direct line to the castle and climb it, if you want to, as the queues start forming and one’s entire visit can be taken up just queuing to kiss the stone. We then went tot Cork, for a brief city tour. There is a frequent train service between Cork and the port of Cobh, which Patsy and David took and were back for their afternoon tour. So back in Cobh, and after asking the guide for lunch -restaurants we had a nice meal and the critical Guinness at the Waterfront Restaurant (and Hotel) which was close to the Cruise terminal overlooking the river. The other alternative we were given as suggestion, which Patsy and David enjoyed, was the Kelly’s Pub although the Mauritania Pub near the memorial to all who lost their lives on the Lusitania (May 7, 1915), seemed more lively and lots of people enjoying a pint in the sun. . We then walked up the steep hill to the spectacular Cathedral that I previously mentioned. If you are ever in Cobh, this is a “Must See” place even though it is a long steep climb up the hill. The view over the harbour is terrific, but the Cathedral itself is remarkable. St. Coleman’s Cathedral is 210 feet (64 meters) in length and 120 feet (36.6 meters) in width built in Neo-Gothic Style at a cost of UK Pounds 235,000. The height of the spire is 300 Feet (91.5 meters) and was completed in 1915 with the Carillon Clock (largest in the UK and Ireland with 49 bells weighing 25,400 kilos, played from a console in the belfry) was installed in 1916. (www.cobhcathedralparish.ie). Of particular note is one of the side chapel is that of Thaddeus, next to Lady Chapel to the left of the main altar with Sacred Heart and Pieta chapels on the right. Thaddeus McCarthy (born 1455) was named bishop of the Diocese of Ross by Pope Sixtus IV. However when he arrived, the feuding rival family O’Driscolls had already been named bishop by the same Pope! Thaddeus returned to Rome to have him sort it out. He was named Bishop of Cork and Cloyne by Pope Innocent VIII. However when he arrived, the other feuding family – the FitzGeralds had taken the seat. They fabricated stories against Thaddeus and eventually he was excommunicated. He pleaded with his followers not to lead to violence. Eventually he was restored to the faith and status as a Bishop and returned to Ireland disguised as a pilgrim, but due to all his trials and tribulations, he died in a hostel near Lvrea, Italy at the age of 37. In the morning the monks found a mysterious glow coming from the body and room where he had died, and upon investigation, found him to be an Irish Bishop, not a pilgrim. He was laid to rest under the main altar with St. Eusebius in the local cathedral with all the rights of a bishop. Next to the Cathedral there is a chapel of Perpetual Adoration which is difficult to find, but we followed the signs and entered this small 10 seat chapel. It was built between 1868 and 1915, so even though relatively modern, it could quite easily have come from the Middle Ages or before. St Coleman (522 – 604) is the patron saint of the Diocese of Cloyne, with Cobh being part of that Diocese. His day of celebration is November 24th.
We wandered back to the ship stopping for a local ice cream (there are more dairy cows 7MM than people 5.1MM in Ireland), in time for dinner and the amusing show of the comedian – John Martin.
Roger & Anne Travels 