Until Next Time, Ireland!

Annie Moore and her two little brothers were the first immigrants to be processed through the (then brand new) immigration processing center we Americans call Ellis Island in 1891. It’s no coincidence that the Moore children were from Ireland: they were riding a decades-long crest of Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine for a better life in America. They departed from the port of Cobh (pronounced “Cove”), on the same inlet that leads to the city of Cork but a few miles closer to the Atlantic, and at the end of the pier is the above statue commemorating their departure. An identical copy of the statue also stands at Ellis Island to commemorate their arrival. Such are the ties between America and Ireland.

Another famous departure from Cobh was the infamous cruise ship Titanic: Cobh was its last port of call before heading across the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the train station at the end of the pier, where thousands of Irish immigrants like Annie and her brothers arrived prior to boarding their westbound ships, is a fine little museum dedicated to transatlantic shipping, and naturally Titanic plays a starring role in the exhibits. Now less than three months from our own transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, the Titanic exhibits were a sobering reminder that not all of man’s designs, plans, and schemes go as expected. Hopefully we remember that lesson.

Kilkenny Castle

It’s a shame to wind up our blogs on Ireland so abruptly in this single post. We could likely fill our own guidebook from our experiences-packed ten days here. There were so many characters that seem worth mentioning, so many sites worth describing, and so many pictures we could post your way. On our last couple of days we saw not only Cobh, but Ireland’s lovely southern Atlantic coastline, the sailboat-spotted town of Kinsale, and the nifty little town of Kilkenny with its splendid castle.

We imagine that Annie and her brothers arrived at the port at Cobh, fearful that they would never come back, but hopeful both for a better life and that one day they might return to Ireland. So we’ll leave Ireland the same way they did: looking forward to the next time we set foot on this wonderful island full of wonderful people.