A Day In Cobh!

While we waited for the tour of Spike Island to begin, we spent some time walking through Cobh.  It was spectacular!  We had an awesome impromptu tour guide, Hopper.  He took us to see the Colman Cathedral, which was breathtaking!  Thanks to Hopper who told us interesting facts about Cobh and Ireland that you would not read in the books!

Cobh Harbor

Cobh Pier

A view of the Colman Cathedral from the pier

Beautiful Cobh downtown

Another view of the cathedral from the center of town. Also a great shot of the clouds gathering behind it.

I love Cobh! It's so beautiful!

Mrs. Simmons is taming the lion!

Colman Cathedral stands above the city

Another view of the pier

Mrs. Jones is letting you know where we were!  The Port of Cork!

My sister and I enjoyed hanging around the pier and the boats

Colman Cathedral

We had to walk a huge hill to get to the cathedral!!!  It was HUGE!

The detailing of the religious figures on the cathedral are truly works of art!

Inside the cathedral people can light a candle for their loved ones

A gorgeous pulpit inside the cathedral

Hopper was the best guide ever!!!  Even if he did make me walk up a hill!

This is a statue in the center of Cobh dedicated to those who died on the Lusitania during World War I

A full view of the memorial to the Lusitania victims

We had to walk ALL of these stairs to get to the Colman Cathedral!!!

Mrs. Simmons and my sister had to take a breather!!!  LOL!!!

Colman Cathedral - Beautiful!!!

Colman Cathedral

Ms. Johnson and I in the pulpit inside the cathedral, we didn't give a sermon though!!!

Religious statues inside Colman Cathedral

I learned about Jack Doyle, a famous boxer from Cobh who made millions in the early 1900s.  He was a great champion.

A view of the harbor from the cathedral

Houses in the hills of Cobh

Spike Island: Ireland's Alcatraz!!!

We returned to Cobh to take the ferry to Spike Island!  Also called Ireland's Alcatraz, this jail sits on an island out in the middle of Cobh's harbor.  Now this is a place I would definitely NOT want to be in after dark!  One of the guides told us Ghost Hunters International visited here a few months ago and said Spike Island was full of  ghosts and "other-wordly" activity!

Regardless (and I believe them!), Spike Island is a fascinating!  Throughout its history it has been a fort, a military base, and a jail.  Many people were jailed here during the Potato Famine due to "crimes of hunger", as our guide termed it.  People were jailed and given hefty sentences for crimes such as stealing fruit or chickens, even children as young as 10 years old!  The conditions in the jail were horrible and due to these many crimes of hunger, the jail cells were overcrowded.  Please visit http://www.spikeislandcork.ie and read about it!

Spike Island sits out in the middle of the Cobh Harbor; this is a view from the ferry

Aerial view of Spike Island

A view from the ferry

This is where the British stored grain and wheat to be exported out of Ireland.  They put it here on this island so the poverty stricken population in the city would not be able to raid it or get to it.

A view from the ferry as we approached Spike Island

This is an abandoned house on Spike Island. Families of the men who worked at the jail lived on the island.  They had to evacuate after a riot in 1984.

A view of the front of the jail/fort as you enter

He scared me! I'll admit it!  Afterwards we took pictures with them!

Building C, one of the abandoned prisoner units

Building A, this was destroyed and abandoned after the prisoner riot in 1984

Mrs. Jones took plenty of pictures that we will show to everyone!

A close-up of Building C

This is my new friend Jack!  He was helping out at Spike Island!  He is going to the seventh grade and he showed up plenty of magic tricks!

A close-up view of one of the cells in Building A from the outside.

The courtyard

This is the old school house on Spike Island.  The children that lived on the island had to also go to school on the island.

A picture of a classroom from the school that is now abandoned

Side view of Building A

This is another view of the courtyard.  This building actually houses a min-museum

Skibbereen, Ireland: A Flashback to the Great Hunger

Skibbereen, Ireland was devastated by the Great Hunger in the 1840s.  In fact, it is recognized as one of the hardest hit places in all of Ireland.  We traveled to Skibbereen to visit the Skibbereen Heritage Center where we were able to see for ourselves the hunger, poverty and resilience of the Irish people during this time period.  This excellent exhibit was full of facts, videos, replicas, artifacts and statues that gave a very accurate portrayal of what it was life for many people to live and survive during the Great Hunger.  I was extremely affected by the stories that were recreated in the videos.  It showed me again how Ireland is a country that has seen its fair share of war, poverty and devastation, but has arisen from the ashes of all of this to remain the beautiful country it has always been.  Its people have survived and overcame so much, and this exhibit brought that home for me. 

It was a rainy day, but it didn't matter! The Heritage Center is beautiful!!!

Entry to the Great Famine/Great Hunger Exhibit

This stirring statue portrays the horrors of the Famine many felt as they watched their loved ones die from hunger, poverty, and disease

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Ms. Johnson watches and listens to a video regarding the Great Hunger

Many people rioted due to lack of food, shelter and the unfairness in the government's treatment of them

Mrs. Simmons reads one of the many pieces of information in the exhibit

A drawing that was published in the newspapers during this time depicting the effects of the Potato Famine

Another drawing of the crushing poverty

A plaque honoring the dead of the Famine

An illustration to show the crowding of people on the Famine ships

 

We enjoyed our visit to the Skibbereen Heritage Center!