The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Conquering Cobh
Happy Easter! With our string of sunny days about to come to an end (rain is predicted for the next three days, starting
tonight), we thought we'd better use the last of the fair weather to do a little more touring. We are really more into
being in Ireland than racing around seeing Ireland, but the town of Cobh (pronounced "cove") was on our list
and less than an hour away, so off we went.
If your ancestry is Irish, there's a good chance this was the last Irish soil your ancestors had under their feet. Cobh was the major port of Irish emigration in the 19th century. Of the six million Irish who have emigrated to America, Canada and Australia since 1815, nearly half left from Cobh.
The first steam-powered ship to make a transatlantic crossing departed from Cobh in 1838, cutting the journey time from 50 days to 18. When Queen Victoria came to Ireland for the first time in 1849, this was the first Irish ground she set foot on. Feeling special about that, the town changed its name to Queenstown and was still using that name in 1912 when the Titanic made its last stop here before heading out on its fateful first (and last) voyage.
Cobh has a cute, if touristy, waterfront area but unlike Kinsale, there really wasn't a lot to see or do here other than a couple of walking tours heavy on Titanic-related history and a museum recalling the story of the Titanic and its final moments. It is still a port for cruise ships but fortunately none of them -- or their mobs of tourists -- were here today. We wandered around town a bit, took a chance on a pizza for lunch (bad choice!) and headed back to Kinsale for Margene's daily caffe latte fix.
Being Easter Sunday and with Kinsale being somewhat of a resort area, the town was packed! Cars were trying to go in all directions at once, pedestrians were darting through any open spots in traffic and everyone was basically trying to occupy the same space at the same time. In its way, it reminded me of China! We finally found parking (free on Sundays, at least) and took a break at the Old Bank Cafe.
At one point in the planning for this trip I had considered places in Cobh vs. Kinsale. I'm glad
we chose the latter. Cobh has its charm, but we didn't see anything that would be enough to hold our interest for more than
a day. The tower-looking thing is actually Belvelly Castle, a defensive residence from the 14th century. The main door is
about 12' off the ground, so access could only be gained by a ladder (which was pulled in at night and when threats were
imminent). In 1581 it was purchased as a fixer-upper by Sir Walter Raleigh! Given the few tiny penetrations in the wall, it
must have been pretty dark inside.
The action in town is clearly in a few blocks along the waterfront although empty
storefronts suggest that times have been better. The place seemed to be settling into a quiet decay, but perhaps it all
becomes much more vibrant in the summer. Let's hope.
The Old Bank Cafe is owned by the same Blue Haven group that owns the Bistro where we've been a couple of times. Behind the gourmet shop and bakery up front is a pleasant little tea room that also serves as the breakfast venue for the B&B rooms upstairs. All in all, a pleasantly serene place to take a break.
On the way back to the house, we stopped by Charles Fort, one of the local attractions ... if one is attracted to such places. We weren't. It was late in the day and a chilly wind had come up, promising rain was on the way. Charles Fort and it's counterpart, James Fort across the harbor entrance, controlled access to Kinsale Harbor. Charles was a state-of-the-art star fort whose design enabled defenders to lay down crossfire on attackers even when they were at the base of the walls.
© 2014 Restaurant Doctor
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