9/2: Cobh aka Queenstown, the Lusitania & the Titanic

We came to the southern city of Cobh - pronounced 'cove' - to learn more about the Irish emigrant experience as it was the major port of Irish emigration in the 19th century. Of the six million Irish who made their way to Canada, the US and Australia, almost half left from Cobh in County Cork. In 1838, the first trans Atlantic steam-powered ship left from Cobh which cut the journey from 50 days to 18. 

City residents were so happy that Queen Victoria came first to Cobh when she visited Ireland in 1849 for the first time, they changed the town's name to Queenstown in her honor. To celebrate the new country's freedom from royalty in 1922, locals changed the name back to its name of Cobh which is how it's known today. The town had a museum solely devoted to the Titanic because the ship made its final stop here in 1912. In the former train station was a museum called The Queenstown Story which had exhibits on the reasons so many people left Cobh, on the Titanic and about the Lusitania which sunk nearby, basically everything rolled into one which we found preferable.

The quilt was the work of the Cobh Active Retirement Group to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic and Cobh's place in history regarding it. Their hope was to give dignity to those who boarded the ship in Cobh, most of whom perished at sea. It was interesting to note the symbols describing some people, the Claddagh ring for an eloping couple, rosary beads in honor of Martin Gallagher's assisting women, including his fiancee to safety, and the last view of Martin was of him saying the Rosary. The Mercy emblem represented one of the passengers becoming a nun in the US.  

Our admission receipt to the little museum was a ticket for a specific passenger on the  Titanic. Mine was Margaret Rice whose name I found on the quilt. 

The first exhibits dealt with why so many Irish left their home. Some emigrants were seeking a better life overseas but others were forced against their will to leave Ireland. They all had one thing in common, however - they helped shaped the world as we know it. 

Between 1823 and 1825, 11 ships brought over 2,500 Irish emigrants just to Canada. As the Irish population was rising dramatically and economic conditions worsened, the British Parliament realized that by increasing the number of Irish settlers in British North America, i.e. Canada, they would relieve economic woes in Ireland and also acquire greater protection from the US. It was hoped that border defense of Canada would improve with the formation of a militia comprised of Irish men. Two waves of Irish emigrants and their families therefore had their transport covered to Canada by Britain. 

The reasons for leaving Ireland were lack of opportunities, poverty, crop failures, the land ownership system and lack of a future. Many emigrants were helped to leave by family members who had left before them. This 'chain migration' was important in 19th century Irish emigration. From 1848-1900, over 46 million pounds in today's currency was sent to Ireland as remittances from emigrants in North America. 

How ironic that the nutrient-rich potato which allowed the Irish population to increase, was also the cause of its decline. The Irish population grew from five million in 1780 to over eight million in 1841, an increase of 60 percent. The nutritious potato enabled this rising population to sustain itself as 1.5 acres produced enough potatoes to feed a family of five for a year. 

As a result of the Famine, hunger and desperation forced thousands into the overcrowded workhouses and put enormous pressure on relief schemes which attempted to alleviate the distress. Over three quarters of a million people died during the Famine, mainly from diseases such as cholera. Escape was seen by many as the only means of survival; between 1845 and 1851, over 1,500,000 people emigrated from Ireland. That was more that had left in the previous 50 years. 

We read that an American Wake was often held on the emigrant's last night at home with a mixture of gaiety and sorrow marking their departure. Food, drink, music dancing, songs and reminisces would have carried on until morning. The wake grew out of the Irish tradition of 'waking' or watching the dead. The likelihood of the emigrants not returning meant they were 'dead' to those left behind. Home, family and friends were never seen again for most of the early emigrants. 

Irish emigration reached unprecedented proportions during the Famine as people fled from hunger and disease. Because the demand for ships was so high then, many leaking and non-seaworthy vessels were used. As many of them never reached their destination, they were given the grim moniker of coffin ships. 

Short rations: By the end of the four to six week voyage, food and water were often tainted and in short supply. Hard biscuit, oatmeal, wheat flour and rice made up the principal diet of passengers, together with some meat,tea and any provisions which they brought themselves. Cooking facilities were very limited and during bad weather, no hot food was available. 

Across the sea: An ocean voyage in the early and mid-19th century was uncomfortable, tedious and sometimes dangerous. Conditions during the Great Potato Famine that lasted from 1845-1851 were particularly bad as those fleeing from Ireland took passage on any ship they could find. 

Fears of a Watery Grave: Storms at sea kept steerage passengers below deck in  conditions of near darkness, surrounded by overpowering odors, and general confusion. Seasickness and illness weakened many passengers and the violent motion of the ship made it impossible to give them comfort. Passengers were flung about during storms which sometimes caused injuries. Ocean storms were dreaded by passengers for the very real possibility of being shipwrecked. 

There was a remarkable response in Boston to the suffering of the Irish during the Famine. Concerned citizens established a committee, met publicly and organized fundraising events which resulted in $150,000 being raised to send the USS Jamestown relief ship full of food and goods to the needy in County Cork. 

After learning about why so many Irish emigrants felt compelled to leave their homeland and who passed through Cobh en route to America and Canada, the museum's next exhibit was on viewing the Titanic through the lens of Frank Browne, an aspiring photographer. Browne was a passenger on the White Star's line Titanic when the enormous liner arrived in the Queenstown port on April 11, 1912, from Southampton in England. The theological student had received the two-day gift from his uncle, a Roman Catholic bishop. An American couple, seeing that Brown was such a keen photographer, offered to pay for his onward trip to New York but his Jesuit Superior in Dublin ordered him to get off the ship. Browne obeyed the order and the Titanic sailed from Queenstown without him, It sank just four days later with the loss of over 1,500 lives. Brown's Titanic photographs provided a remarkable glimpse into life on board a ship that became one of he most famous and tragic ships in history. 

The Titanic docked in Queenstown harbor because of its importance as the main emigrant port for those leaving Ireland on April 11, 1912. There, 123 passengers were waiting to

board the new liner. They were leaving Ireland for various reasons: to start a new life, to return to work after visiting family back home, or traveling to visit family in America. In the busiest periods, up to a thousand people left Queenstown each week. 

Most Titanic passengers had traveled to Queenstown from the south, west and midlands of Ireland. The majority were young, single, and looking forward to their future in the US. Some made the journey in groups, traveling with neighbors, relatives or friends. Six members of the ice family, including my namesake passenger, the widow Margaret Rice, were returning to Spokane, Washington with her five young sons. The Titanic had moored a few kilometers offshore when it made its final stop at Queenstown. Two tenders ferried the new passengers as well as over 1,000 bags of mail across to join the massive ship.

Gone were the days of the coffin ships by the early 20th century. Passengers no longer needed to supply their own food and bedding and endure overcrowding and unhealthy conditions. Conditions for the wealthier travelers became increasingly luxurious so that White Star's Oceanic in 1889 was described as a "ship which makes possible a steamship as a traveling palace."

Queenstown was the last port of call for the Titanic of which it was said, "God himself could not sink this ship." Furthermore, it was deemed "practically unsinkable and absolutely fireproof" and also "the latest triumph in the world of mercantile marine."

However, as we all know, the Titanic sank in the early morning of April 15th, 1912, after striking an iceberg  in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into the ship's maiden voyage to New York City. There weren't enough lifeboats for all on board and, when the ship sank, over 1,500 lost their lives, making it one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history. 

News of the loss of the Titanic was met with shock and disbelief, turning to grief when the death toll became known. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, the Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board. The sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people. 

The photograph showed the flag at the White Star offices in Queenstown flying at half-mast on April 19, 1912, in mourning for those lost in the tragedy. 

Another ship with a close association to Queenstown and also had a tragic ending was the Lusitania. The ship had maintained its Atlantic passenger service despite  the outbreak of war in 1914. In May, the liner was on a voyage from New York to Liverpool when it was struck by a torpedo from a German submarine U20 just 25 miles from Queenstown. When the ship sank in just 300 feet of water, a flotilla of boats from Cobh hurried to the rescue, having been alerted by the Lusitania's wireless operators. 

Of the 1,959 people aboard, 1,198 died. The survivors were brought to Queenstown and neighboring Kinsale and were taken care of in local hospitals and hotels. Shopkeepers opened up their stores to donate clothing to the survivors. Many of those who died were buried in Old Church Cemetery. We read many first-hand survivors' accounts of how welcome they were made to feel by the residents after the horrific loss of the ship.

The outbreak of hostilities in 1939 mean the end of the emigrant and tourist trade in Cobh until after the war. The Irish Free State was neutral so there was little naval and military activity in the harbor. 

The immigrant receiving facility at Ellis Island, New York was where more than twelve million immigrants passed through it on their way to a new life in the US between 1892 and 1954. The very first was 17-year old Annie Moore who arrived on December 31, 1891, with her younger brothers to join their parents in New York. Unlike many others, Annie didn't have a better life and lived the remainder of her life on New York's Lower East Side tenements until she died in 1924 at the age of 49 after marrying and giving birth to ten children, only five of whom survived into adulthood. 

What a delightful harbor Cobh had which made for an enjoyable walk along the main street. 

After reading so much about the events of the Lusitania, we walked to its memorial a couple of blocks away.

On another corner was the much smaller and less impressive Titanic Memorial.

Will: This one's for you! I wonder if your family had Irish roots and came through Cobh.

We hiked up the steep hill behind the Lusitania Memorial toward St. Colman's Cathedral. The photogenic row of 23 colorful homes is called the 'deck of cards' by locals because they were built on an ascending stack on 23 different levels!

I just loved the candy-colored exteriors!

From the vantage point at the top of the street, we were supposed to have been able to just see the anchorage of the Titanic. I didn't but relished the chance to regain my breath after huffing and puffing my way up the steep street!

Never heard of Kidney Steps before!

The towering St. Colman's Cathedral was celebrating its centenary this year. After making that long ascent to the cathedral, it was closed!

I thought what we saw of Cobh was absolutely charming. If we were ever to return to Ireland, I can certainly see adding a night in Cobh next visit. 

Next post: An energetic walk while in Kinsale to St. Charles Fort and a lazy harbor cruise!

Posted on September 18th, 2019, from Portrush on the amazing Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland.