One of the reasons for our trip to Ireland is to trace the steps of my ancestors. While I am of mostly German heritage, my Grandmother (my mother's mother) Kathryn Conway, was Irish. She was orphaned as a baby, and there wasn't much in the way of family lore about her side of the family. Fortunately, genealogy records are now available in the public domain (thank you Church of Latter-Day Saints!) which made it possible for me to trace my grandmother's family. Born in Cincinnati, she was a second-generation American - in fact, four hopeful Irish teenagers immigrated from different parts of Ireland between 1840 and 1870, settled in Cincinnati, met, married, and had children. Two of those children, my great-grandparents, met, married, and had Kathryn.
Statistically speaking, an American today of Irish heritage very likely has a connection to Cobh (pronounced "Cove"), in County Cork, Ireland. Known as "Queenstown" between 1849 and 1920, over 3 million Irish emigrated from here. My great, great, great grandmother, Bridget Kerrigan, left Ireland from Cobh in 1870 aboard the HMS Cuba. So I went to Cobh, to trace her last steps in her homeland.
The Cobh Heritage Centre occupies the historic railway station, only a short distance from where the pier had stood. The museum brings to life the history and legacy of this port and its role in Irish emigration, particularly during the Great Famine. It also pays tribute to the Titanic, whose final port of call was Cobh, and to the Lusitania, which was sunk just off Cobh's coast.
The inscription on the Lusitania Peace Memorial above reads: "To the memory of all who perished by the sinking of the Lusitania May 7, 1915, and in the cause of universal and lasting peace." And on the bottom: "They helped in the rescue, gave aid and comfort to the survivors and buried the dead." It was always the intention of the sculptor (Irish American Jerome Connor) that the names of the victims would be inscribed on the memorial. Technology has made that intention a reality - a QR code is posted near the memorial, allowing all 1,196 names to be viewed.
No mention of Cobh would be complete without a nod to the enormous Cathedral Church of St Colman, previously Queenstown Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral completed in 1919.
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