I have made no bones about the fact that we were charmed by Ireland, but I do have a message to Cobh, Ireland – don’t rest on your laurels. We loved the raw natural beauty and the wonderful people of Donegal, Kilkenny was quirky in the best way, Dingle was crazy good, as was Killarney and all of the wonderful little villages in between. Unfortunately, Cobh was underwhelming when it shouldn’t have been.
About Cobh, Ireland
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Cobh (pronounced ‘cove’) is a waterfront town and a cruise port stop, giving them instant visitors whenever a cruise ship stops in town. Cobh is the gateway to the city of Cork, Ireland. We decided to stay in Cobh, with the hope of being able to share some great content, and discover a place where there might be something very special; and Cobh could have been, but it wasn’t.
First Impressions of Cobh, Ireland
On our arrival, the town was bright and bustling, because a cruise ship was in town. Cobh is overlooked by the enormous St Colman’s Cathedral, one of the tallest and most dramatic buildings in Ireland, so we were off to a good start. The promenade was alive with people, music, and flowers. Cobh also has the second largest natural harbour in the world. Sydney Harbour in Australia has the largest, and quite frankly there is no comparison.
Cobh is built on the side of a cliff and has some very steep and winding roads. There is the row of houses known as the deck of cards, and they are impressive, and reminiscent of the painted ladies of San Francisco.
Cobh is steeped in history.
Cobh is steeped in history, as over 70,000 people left through this port during the Great Famine from 1848 – 1950. Cobh was also the final port of call for the Titanic. Cobh was known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, but when Ireland became a republic, the name was changed.
Cobh Heritage Centre
If you do stay in Cobh or visit, then you will undoubtedly visit the Cobh Heritage Centre. Here you will learn the story of Irish emigration- from the indentured servants and forced labour who left for the Colonies and the West Indies in the 17th century, and also to Canada and the United States. You will also learn about the Great Famine and the transportation of convicts to Australia. In fact, Cobh and Australia have a long relationship.
The Titanic Experience
The Titanic Experience in Cobh is in the original White Star Line Ticket Office in the centre of Cobh town in what was the departure point for the final 123 passengers who boarded the Titanic.
Why Cobh, Ireland needs a kick in the butt
It was after the cruise ship left, and we could explore Cobh on our own, that things began to unravel. In fairness, we had come from the cute picture postcard town of Kilkenny, which was immaculate and where the pride in the city was obvious. Unfortunately, Cobh did not follow in this model.
The back streets were littered with glass, and graffiti, and rubbish. This was not from the cruise ship passengers, who mostly stayed down on the waterfront, or went to kiss the Blarney Stone. No, this was ‘normal’ Cobh, and it shouldn’t be that way. Cobh could be just as attractive as Kilkenny, Killarney, Dingle and other places in Ireland…if they choose this route.
It appeared to me that Cobh have their cruise ship passengers who see the attractive water frontage, and not the behind the scenes – the real Cobh. There were many empty shops away from the dock and there appeared to be a lot of disinterest in the town’s appearance. I felt that Cobh, with its inherently lovely qualities, needed a good kick in the butt. Remember, cruise ships are not bound to stop there. There are other places who would love this golden opportunity.
The Irish Naval Service headquarters is on Haulbowline Island facing Cobh, and when they are not practicing their rifle shooting which they do a lot, then maybe they could help clean up the town.
Where we stayed In Cobh
We stayed at the iconic Commodore Hotel for 2 nights, and much like the rest of Cobh, it is tired and dated. On a (synthetic) grassed area at the top of the hotel overlooking the harbour, the same old beer glasses were there for three days. Remember people; the devil is in the detail.
While the hotel was not booked out, or even close to capacity (I asked), our room overlooked the trash cans. We were there as independent travellers, and I would not expect any hotel to put any people in these rooms unless the hotel was booked out. This is where Cobh seems to not care. However, we had one waitress who worked her butt off and was delightful to everyone. If it wasn’t for her, then our stay would have been totally useless.
Cobh, Ireland – don’t rest on your laurels.
In my opinion, I want to say to Cobh, Ireland – don’t rest on your laurels. You may well end up like the Titanic if you don’t start to take some pride in what could and should be a beautiful place in Ireland.
I would suggest the author do some research on the town before making these comments. Cobh Tidy Towns (check out their hugely popular Facebook page) have one of the best teams in Ireland. They go out twice a week with a huge team cleaning and painting the town and under a team of national judges won Gold this year and last for their efforts.
Im an outsider who first visited Cobh in 2013 after the town had been hit hard by Irelands recession. Many business were shut and houses boarded up. To look at it today, you wouldn’t believe that they were struggling so badly only a few short years ago. I believe this is 90% down to the locals who adore and take pride their area. You can barely walk down a street now without passing house renovations, hanging baskets galore on the streets and newly painted shops. It will take time to get it fully the way everyone wants it to look, but to say no one is putting in an effort and they need to pull up their socks is way off the mark. Completely the opposite in fact.
N/A Thats a shady name. Blunt Honesty. Are you sure your real name is not Paula McInerney. This article stinks to be honest. It is not accurate and it certainly does not display the truth about Cobh and its community. The people of Cobh love Cobh and The Great Island. There are many Groups that work tirelessly towards the betterment of the Great Island and our town as a whole. The vast majority of visitors are grateful for the warm welcome they receive, Cobh people are renowned for their friendliness towards visitors all year round, not just when cruise liners are in. Cobh is a top tourist attraction all year round. It never stops and the people of cobh work all year round to keep our town, housing estates etc all in good shape. I would hope you would visit the Island again when you have time. I’m sure what ever bad experience you really had to write such an animated article will be water under the Belvelly bridge
Samuel Conneely
As someone who has grown in cobh, moved away and does have family there i must say I thank you for your honestly, while a lot of work has been done to provide the effort and quality towards cruise ships coming into the town. (believe me it was vastly worse a few years ago)
You also have to take into account the country as a whole, and also see a few aspects of things differently, Firstly a lot of the events and effort made when ships come in are not by local businesses but by locals of the town, trying to welcome and provide a good image of this town. There is little to no funding. We as a town have no one to represent this town in local government, or even in the national dáil. This has impacted quality of the town massively with each passing year. And I am glad that you as someone passing through have noticed. Granted businesses themselves will be made or break on the service they provide, that cannot be contended. However as a focal point of the town, the habour and the people coming into it, we have fought continually for more effort and more funding to provide this town the quality that you coming to the town deserve, as well as the locals who live here. We can barely drive on some roads the funding for that alone by local/county government is beyond excuse after excuse. It is the nuances of how this country work that impact this town not just the laurels we idly dwell on.
The irony is for years,while cobh was the port and entrence to cork city, we were never the attaction, we were the gate to the buses waiting to bring you to killarney, or the blarney stone.
A bit of context to the lack of funding and mentality of the county to this tiny port town have depreciated its impact and value quite considerably, it is only the effort of a few that has brought it up from were it was, but I agree, more has to be done, but only so much can be done with no funding.
You are welcome to contact me for more information or insight I am happy to provide it to you,I also appreciate your blunt honesty in this article.
Regards.
L.
Where and when did you take this stroll deeper into cobh town and subarbs. I think your article is very harsh. Did you take a deeper stroll into all the other towns you visited. The people of Cobh are very proud of our town and suburbs. The town have received numerous awards over the past several years from tidy towns showcasing the work, contentment and pride that Cobh people have. To say that Irish Naval personnel should come over and clean up the place is outrageous. Did someone piss in your cornflakes during your stay here. This is the first negative article i have read about Cobh so thankfully you are the minority when it comes to peoples experience visiting Cobh.
Terribly written article. Be more articulate and observant next time you’re in a town . Hope the door doesn’t hit you in the ass when you leave.
Can’t believe you are talking about Cobh . The only thing you got right was the beauty of the area .
That is the worst load of verbal diarrhea anyone have ever put in writing….. Where ever they got their journalist degree from i suggest that they get the money back….
Attention to detail can make or break a business. There is a lot of competition out there and it doesn’t sound like they’re interested in competing.
I know. It is crazy when they have a pole position with cruise ships. I am fairly sure others would love, and appreciate this privilege. Cobh really needs a good kick up the butt.
Paula u mentioned the Naval Base in your critisism of Cobh,and allthe shooting they, believe me they do more than rifle practise, and one of their jobs is not to clean up Cobh or any other town in ,i think its an insult to the men and women of the NS to suggest this as to me it implies that they do nothing else but rifle practise , u should withdray that part of your statement and apologise to the men and women of the NS.
And what do they do? I don’t see how proposing that they could help clean up the town is in any way insulting. Maybe you think picking up rubbish is a degrading thing to do, in which case you are actually part of the problem.
“…one of the tallest and most dramatic buildings in Ireland” – sorry, what? Did you mean tallest in Cobh?
It is tall, it is dramatic, and yes it is in Cobh.