Corcaigh (Cork) and Cobh

Just got back from a weekend in Cork, on the southwest coast.  The first day there we had a tour of Cork and of Cobh (pronounced Cove).  Cobh is the port town where the Titanic last stopped before it embarked.  It has a rich shipping history and was also involved in rescue missions to the Lusitania.  The town was really cute, but once you turn off the main street and away from the tourist destinations, much of it is run down.  The harbor also is home to the Irish Naval base; apparently the Irish Navy has a whopping 8 ships!  Cork harbor used to be home to steel industries, timber boat yards, and other industrial plants that have since been abandoned.  Now it is a popular place for pharmaceutical companies to build plants, as that is a big industry in Ireland right now.   Cork City was great and very lively when we were walking around.  The all-Ireland hurling finals were being held Saturday and Cork was playing against Clare so the streets were filled with team flags and colors.  The city also has a interesting past with being burned down numerous times by the Vikings, the Normans, then the British.  Cork also floods quite frequently as well so a lot of the doors and other architecture is built to accommodate old river channels that ran through the city but are no longer there. 

The microclimate that operates in Cork allows for palm trees to grow.  Pretty strange sight to see in Ireland.  On old maps Ireland is referred to as Hibernia, or Land of Eternal Winter, so the palm trees are a non sequitur.

Statue of Annie Moore with her two brothers-- at Ellis Island she is featured in a statue but her brothers do not accompany her since she lost them on the journey.

Memorial to the people of Cobh and Cork who came to the aid of the Lusitania

St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh

This street is known as the "Stack of Cards" because the houses look like they might topple over if one is pushed out of place.

Interior of St. Colman's

House in Cobh overgrown with ivy

Boats at rest in Cobh harbor

The White Star Line building, the same liner that ran the Titanic

The English Market in Cork City

Quite possibly the greatest olive bar I've ever witnessed. I got a big bag to-go and snacked on them for the rest of the day.

And they had macarons.  So I tripled in size just by walking through the market.

Blackberry and violet macaron

Nationalist Memorial to the Civil War

A painter at work

St. Finbarre's Cathedral-- this church belongs to the Church of Ireland, which is actually the established Anglican church, and not of the Catholic denomination.  It is the most ornate protestant church I've ever seen, and apparently at its unveiling parishioners were shocked by its grandeur.

University College Cork's main quadrangle