Cork, Ireland
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2011
1
15
31
Trip End
May 15, 2011
Cobh, Munster, Ireland
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
We had decided to go into the City of Cork, Ireland for the start of our Irish Adventure and later we would return to Cobh to finish our walk thru Ireland. The ship was berthed and we were thru immigration by 08:00AM. It was just a few minutes' walk from the ship to the town's train station that was located adjacent to our ship's dock. As the trains ran every half hour, it was not a long wait once we boarded the train. We had purchased a round trip ticket on the local train between Cobh and Cork, both in the County of Cork. Somehow it didn't seem to be a strange land that we were traveling as we traveled the railways from Cobh to Cork. A lot of the train passengers were just off the White Lady and heading toward Cork for a day of sightseeing, shopping, and pubbing (my word for visiting various pubs). The others aboard the train were the local commuters between several of the towns of the County of Cork and the City of Cork. But it was strange in that we could understand most of what was being said on the train. I say most as we were in Ireland and the Irish have some very beautiful colloquialisms to describe the things in their environment. And of course there was the colorful Irish accent that reminded you that you were indeed in the Land of the Leprechaun. The train ride was marvelous, as we passed thru the lushest green countryside that we have traveled thru during our trip around the world. The rain seemed to add to the deep green color of the landscape. Small towns and house and farms all quickly passed before our little window on Ireland that the commuter train provided for us. At the small village train stops the names of the stops were written in both English and Gaelic.
By the half hour, we had arrived at Kent Station in the City of Cork. We were quickly off the train and out on a small paved exit path that ran along the station's parking area from the train station to a street that led into the city. Cork is the Intellectual and Arts center of Southern Ireland. It is a picturesque old city that has been a vibrant part of Ireland since the Middle Ages. Its history runs thru the Irish Rebellion and the fighting with the Black and Tans, a British army unit made up of regulars and convicts sent to quell the rebellion and keep Ireland a part of Great Britain. The town sits on and around the River Lee. Several of the main streets such as Grand Parade, Patrick's Street and South Mall were once channels of the River Lee; but are now covered with a roadway. We began our tour of Cork where all travels should begin; at the local Tourist Information Office. I had gotten a walking tour from the Internet that described a quick wall around the City of Cork. It would provide a good introduction to the city in just over an hour and would allow us to then concentrate on some of the better sights we had just seen. This would work out well as Cork is a compact city sitting on the river lowlands of the River Lee. We started our walk on the Grand Parade and headed toward the Bishop Lucey Park. The park is a lovely small park that has part of the original wall that once surrounded the medieval City of Cork. The park was a short stop that offered a glimpse into the history of this city. We then proceed along the Grand Parade to Patrick's Street. This is the major shopping street in the City of Cork. "On 12 December 1920, many of the buildings on this street were destroyed by fire during an attack by the 'Black and Tans' - veteran soldiers and ex-convicts sent by the British government to control the rebellious population, known for their brutal acts and intimidation of the local people. The name 'Black and Tans' is an Irish appellation for them, based on the color of their uniforms. An attack on a British Army vehicle by Cork rebels led to a drunken rampage by the Black and Tans, in which many houses near the attack (Dillon's Cross, outside the city), as well as much of the city center were burned to the ground. This accounts for the mixed style of new and old buildings on Patrick's Street." Today the street does not bear any scars from the earlier conflicts and is a functioning part of the city life serving as a major shopping area. Here is where the major department stores are located and the street leads to a very large Shopping complex called Merchant's Quay. As Ireland is part of the European Union, the euro is the currency used in the shops about town. And there are plenty of shops on the street, not many large stores but many small individual shops that lined the sides of this shopping street. As the rains was still misting and drizzling, we stopped at several of the shops just for a quick stop to get in out of the rain. We stopped at a 2 Euro Store and several clothing shops. It was a cool rainy day and we were taking a leisurely walk thru the city. We completed the little walking tour and thought of the areas we would like to explore closer. Our first area was the Old English Market that was accessed thru a small alleyway off Oliver Plunkett Street. Oliver Plunkett Street is a narrow street that is second only to Patrick's Street for shopping. It was thru a small ally entrance that contained a little black iron sign that identified the Old English Market. Once inside, the market opened up to a large covered area of many shops of fish, chicken, vegetables and other editable items all for sale to the local families that were doing their daily shopping for the evening meal. We could see men in Aprons and gloves quickly and efficiently cutting fishes into the various parts that were being sold just as quickly as they were being cut into pieces. Beef, pork and lamb items were featured in another shop. One shop was full of large cakes of cheese that could be sliced into small family portions upon request. Vegetables were being displayed as if they were on the side of a road by the farm that grew them. Bakery items were also displayed for the consumption of the shopper. It was just past noon, and after visiting the Old English Market, we felt that it was time for lunch. We didn't want just any lunch, but we wanted a proper Irish Pub lunch. A quick stop at the local Tourist Information Office provided us with the name of the best pub lunch in the area. Or what the clerk at the Office believed to be the best pub lunch. We were off to Clancy's Pub for lunch.
On the outside and inside the Pub was thoroughly Irish, a slightly darker interior with a long bar and a cafeteria like area for lunch. There was also an area for tables and chairs for the pub customers to eat their lunch and enjoy of pint of the local brew. On the way into the pub, we asked a local standing at the entrance about the selection of beers. We wanted a completely local beer that was brewed in Cork. The beer would be Beamish Beer, a local beer that was a dark ale that had a slight bitter taste. Inside of the pub, we selected a small bistro table that had two bar taps located in the center of the table. No, this was not a decoration; it was a fully functional tap that had a digital meter on the front that would keep track of the beer poured thru the tap. Thus the need for a waiter was eliminated and of course the wait. You could refill your drink without the need for a wait for service. This was a service for the Guinness Beer drinkers.
Although there was a menu, we feel that the best way to order is to look at the food while ordering. A large beef patty with gravy, onions, and mushrooms was our selection. To this main item were added potatoes, which we considered a must, as we were in Ireland. Also some carrots and turnips were added with additional gravy for the potatoes. We also included a request for our Beamish Beer. We were satisfied that this would be a proper Irish Pub lunch. And it was. We left the pub feeling completely full and filled with a new found energy for the rest of the day's adventure.
The day was moving on and we wanted to return to our port of Cobh so that we could spend some time exploring that town. So back thru town and across the river we walked toward the Kent Station and a train that would transport us back thru the County of Cork to the town of Cobh. Again at the train station, we were greeted by many of our fellow passengers from the White Lady. The trip back was equally inspirational as the lush green country side of the County of Cork speed by our train's window. The train trip was as interesting part of our adventure as the walk thru the City of Cork. It gave us a feel of the country that we could not get from walking thru the tourist attractions of a city.
When we arrived back to the town of Cobh in the County of Cork, we discovered that the rain was a little more vigorous and that the wind from the harbor added to the intensity of the rain. Just beside the train station was the Queensland Museum. The town of Cobh derived its name from Gaelic, but for over a century the town was renamed to Queensland, as a tribute to a British Queen who visited the town. So once it was returned to Irish control, the city's name was restored to its original name of Cobh. But during the time of the Irish Potato Famine, the city under the name of Queensland was the exit port of the Irish immigrants that were fleeing the famine and heading out with hopes of a better life to America and other areas of the world that would provide the immigrants relieve from the famine. It was also under the name of Queensland, that the unsinkable Titanic left this last port of Europe on it fatal voyage into history. Also during WWII, the Lusitania, a ship that was once said to be too fast for a German U-boat, was sunk by a German U-boat as they prepared to enter the harbor of Cobh. Today two monuments stand in the city of Cobh so that the memory of those two ships will not be forgotten. Also a Statue of Annie Moore with her two younger brothers stands at the entrance to the passenger dock in the city. Annie Moore, a fifteen year old girl, was the first immigrant to be processed thru Ellis Island in the United States.
The town of Cobh is a typical Irish town in the layout of the buildings that seemed to have been built in the 1800's. They stand several stories tall up next to each other in a row along the streets of the town. The colors are made up of a variety of primary colors. The colors normal vibrancy were subdued today as the slow drizzle of the day had left a light grey overcast that hung over the city. Cobh is built on the hills that surround a large natural harbor on the south tip of Ireland , making it a great jumping off point for a voyage across the Atlantic to the Americas. As with most medieval towns in Europe the silhouette of the city is dominated with a giant Gothic Cathedral with its stained glass windows, tall point spires, and flying buttresses. The hills on which the city is built still decorate the buildings on them with patches of green shrubs and trees. But our walk thru the town was more abbreviated than we would have liked because of the strong breezes that came rushing in from the ocean thru the rain. This caused us to several times to have to manually reshape our umbrellas as the wind would turn them up as they tried to fly from our hand. So our walk thru town was with a good grip on an umbrella and a single hand available for photography. That is complicated by the fact that I have two cameras, one still and one motion. But we walked thru the main area of town and felt the weather of a seaport that is being buffed by wind and drenched in a slow steady light rain.
We returned to the ship as a shelter from the rain and to dry our cameras that were showing effects of the drizzle. Also for the early returnees to the ship, a special Irish Folkloric Show was being held in the main theater area. A group of young dancers were here to demonstrate the traditional dancing of Irish Heritage. It has become famous in the United States with the show called River Dance. All of the parts of the River Dance were taken from the traditional dances that we watched while outside there was a light drizzle in the harbor of Cobh in the County of Cork in Southern Ireland. It was a fitting ending to our adventures in Ireland.
We sailed in the evening and headed out onto the Atlantic to the English Channel where we will go north to the French Harbor of Le Harve France.
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Where is Harriet? Hunt
Today Harriet is on Patrick's Street in the City of Cork, Ireland. She can see you, can you see her?
Sharon on April 30, 2009
Well, everybody's in black on this one, but I think Harriet is the one standing behind and to the right of the person in black in the foreground in the center of the pix. Got it?
Can't believe I'm the first one to guess!
