Cobh (Cork), Ireland

It was a very good day in Cobh, Ireland! The weather was mild and sunny and we were able to walk directly off the ship onto the dock and into the busy city. This was our first view as we pulled into port.

 

early morning dock in Cork, Ireland

After a room service breakfast, we walked down the beachfront area where young mothers watched their little ones play, men walked their dogs, drank coffee and looked at their phones. Later, school children in yellow vests ran and played in the giant gazebo. After the stores opened, visitors meandered up and down the row of beachfront businesses. 

 

One of the first things we saw after walking off the pier was the Titanic Museum. There are probably a half dozen Titanic museums, so I wondered "why here?" The answer to that is because Cobh was the Titanic's final port of call before sailing out into the Atlantic on April 11, 1912. The museum sits in the original building where the last passengers boarded tenders to join the ship. 

 

original poster

      

Titanic Museum

Nicknamed "The Ellis Island of Ireland", many families from this area embarked to cross the Atlantic, experiencing much hardship. The Cohb Heritage Center, located in the old Railway Station, shares these stories through exhibits and interactive displays, giving visitors an understanding of Ireland's past. 

 

Annie Moore statue

Our guide as we drove to visit the Powerscourt Gardens yesterday talked a lot about Ireland's difficult history, and Oceania's current guest lecturer/historian Skip Moen talked today about how religion and politics separated Ireland into two countries. 

 

Memorial to victims of Lusitania sinking

survivors brought to Cunard Pier

a few of the deceased

The sinking of the Lusitania in May of 1915 occurred when a German U-boat torpedoed the British Ocean liner off the southern coast of Ireland. The ship sank in less than 20 minutes, resulting in the death of 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board, including 128 Americans.

 

By noon we were getting hungry so we ducked into a grocery store and I picked up a baguette, some Irish white cheddar, a package of English Digestives (a very plain cookie that Ronnie likes) and some English toffee and we had ourselves a little picnic on the beach front. 

After lunch, Ronnie headed back to the ship and I climbed up the steep hill to St. Colman's Cathedral, the neo-Gothic landmark that dominates the skyline. Of course I took a ton of photos. 

 

 

Between the flowers that bloom everywhere and the brightly painted houses and buildings, Cobh is a colorful city that is fun to photograph and as always, I took way too many. I'll share a few of my favorites below.

 

 

view from St. Colman's Cathedral

fresh lavender lines the walkway

flowers literally grow out of cracks in the rock!

Besides exploring the city around the port area on foot, some from the ship took a ferry to Spike Island, a former monastery-turned-fortress and prison while others visited Blarney Castle. I seriously doubt any passenger on this ship would be able to kiss the Blarney stone - I know I couldn't! The staff, yes - but the passengers, no!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand

Dublin, Ireland

It's always fun waking up in a new place and today was no different. However, the fog was thick and the shore was a good distance away, this being a tender port. It wasn't long before our Cruise Director made the announcement that the Coast Guard was not allowing us to tender, as it was deemed unsafe. After perhaps 1.5-2 hours, the fog had lifted enough that we were given the go-ahead. This kind of delay, although completely understandable, always throws off the ship's schedule for All Aboard, Departure and travel times.

Anyway, our excursion today was great. The weather held out (no rain) and it was mild enough for a jacket at times. Even though we weren't to meet on shore until 2ish, we decided to tender over and walk around the city and have a bite of lunch before meeting up with our group. 

 

pronounced Dun-Leery

soooo many sailboats!

Larger ships are now required to port in Dun Laoghaire instead of Dublin. We walked around for a bit and located - you guessed it (Mexican food). Unfortunately, it was only "pretend" Mexican food and it was just barely "ok". 

 

Victoria Drinking Fountain (1900) for horses

Court House

St. Michaels

After walking around the city and having a bite of lunch, we met up with the others on the dock. Our excursion began with a 40 minute bus ride to the Powerscourt Estate Gardens, rated #3 in the World's Top 10 Gardens by National Geographic. The Powerscourt House itself is one of the Top Ten houses and Mansions worldwide. I suppose seeing the house would have been a different tour.

our (very Irish) guide

Powerscourt Mansion

 

 

view from front of house

 

Here's more info regarding the house and gardens. https://powerscourt.com/ We did a ton of walking and I was in my element taking pictures of all kinds of flowers. There was not time or energy (on my part) to see all 47 acres of the gardens, but after a brief introduction by our guide, we took off on our own, starting in the central area of the gardens called Triton Lake. From there we headed to the Japanese Gardens, then the Dolphin Pond, the Pet Cemetery and lastly the Walled Garden. Ronnie still had energy so he walked to the opposite side of the grounds to see the Tower Garden and snap a few pictures for me. 

On the same property was a hotel resort spa, golf course and club, distillery, visitors center and the Avoca Terrace Cafe which overlooks the gardens with a view of Sugarloaf Mountain. Oh, and several nice gift shops. We were only there to tour the gardens and naturally I took tons of photos so I will post a few from each area of the garden.  

Triton Lake: The fountain in this lake is based on the fountain in Piazza Barberini in Rome. A pair of life sized Winged Horses watch over the lake. Made in Berlin in1869, they form part of the family coat of arms. 

 

entrance to Triton Lake

Japanese Garden:  This garden was created by the 8th Viscount and Viscountess Powerscourt in 1908. It contains a grotto, wooden bridges and many azaleas, Japanese Maples and Chinese Fortune Palms. It was pretty but there wasn't as much color as I was expecting because the azaleas had already bloomed. 

 

The Dolphin Pond: The 7th Viscount bought the Dolphin Pond in Paris in the late 19th century. It is surrounded by beautiful trees, including a line of Japanese red cedars, planted in 1864! 

 

Dolphin Pond

Pet Cemetery: This is a private pet cemetery for many of the family pets. There were headstones for mostly dogs, a horse, a cow and a pony and his wife. 

 

Sting - 1912

2 cows

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tommy (shetland pony) and his "wife" Magic

Walled Garden: This is one of the oldest parts of the gardens and is home to many different blooming plants. It has beautiful rose gardens along with many other colorful plants. It also has a pond and a 240 year old Bamberg Gate from the Cathedral at Bamberg in Germany. (I went crazy with my camera here, but don't ask me to identify all of these.)

 

English gate represents England, Scotland and Ireland

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tower Valley: Ronnie held out longer than I did so he snapped these photos of the Pepperpot Tower. It was modeled after a favorite pepperpot from Lord Powercourt's dining table. The Tower is also one of the best places to view the hundreds of varieties of trees which have been planted over the past 200 years.

 

Pepperpot Tower

 

The grounds are mowed with robot lawn mowers, greatly reducing the number of gardeners needed to maintain the grounds. We also noticed some shallow stone "trenches" around the upper portion of the grounds but didn't know what they were for. We later learned that they served as a path for the servants to take so that the family did not have to see them walking on the grounds. :(

There was an amazing number of trees of all shapes and sizes. Some were so large that I asked Ronnie to stand beside them in an attempt to show the scale. And of course they are very, very old! Each tree is identified by number and name. I couldn't come close to getting the entire tree in the photos! 

We were so blessed to enjoy perfect weather to explore the gardens. If I had all the energy, stamina and time in the world, I could have spent many more hours there just photographing the flowers alone. I took many more, but I'm just posting a few of my favorites. 

 

 

 

I almost forgot! On the bus ride back to the ship, driving through town we saw these people on the sidewalk dressed in similar fashion. We asked our guide what was going on and he said they were celebrating a holiday called Bloomsday. Here's what I found. 

Bloomsday is a cultural celebration held annually in Dublin on June 16. While it is not an official public holiday, it is one of the city's most beloved and eccentric traditions. 

The event commemorates June 16, 1904, the exact date featured in James Joyce's modernist masterpiece, Ulysses. It traces the fictional, all-day meanderings of the novel's protagonist, Leopold Bloom, across the city. 

The day has grown into a week-long festival featuring a variety of events and activities: 

• Edwardian Dress: Locals and visitors don period costumes (think bustles, boaters, and bowler hats). 
• Joycean Breakfasts: Fans traditionally enjoy a hearty breakfast featuring pork kidneys and a pint of Guinness, just as Bloom does in the book. 
• Walking Tours & Reenactments: The city hosts walking tours retracing Bloom’s exact route, alongside dramatic readings, live music, and pub crawls.