Waving Goodbye to Annie

We drove from Blarney to Cobh for the Queenstown Experience. Queen Victoria’s visited Cobh in 1849 and Cobh was renamed Queenstown in her honour .

Lighthouse in the distance from the bus

Driving along the river

Grandson looking at a ruin from the bus

Cobh (or Queenstown) was the single most important port of emigration in Ireland. . From 1848 to 1950, over 6 million adults and children emigrated from Ireland. About 3 million left from Cobh.

Cobh

We stopped at the Queenstown Experience in Cobh, It is in a restored railway station. Since i wasn't particularly interested in Irish emigrants, I mostly took photos of the architectural details.

Station from the other side (from the bus)

Front of the building from the bus

If you visit Ellis Island, there is a statue of Annie Moore, representing the honour of being the first emigrant to pass through Ellis Island and standing as a symbol of the many Irish who have embarked on that very same journey. In New York, Annie is alone. The statue here in Cobh in front of the Heritage Center shows her with her brothers

Annie's statue in Cobh

Annie's statue

Sign at the entrance

Railroad Station

Busts of people important to the Experience

Detail of the brickwork

Queenstown Experience exhibit

What it was like on board ship

Informational plaque in the building

Lunch menu

Tables and seating area

Walking through the building

Gate at the end of the tourist area

After that we went for tea and scones at a farmhouse (set up for tourist busloads) My grandson didn't like tea and he wasn't particularly impresssed by the scones either, but I liked them.

Farm lane

Farmhouse serving tea and scones

Grandson heading back to the bus

and then we went to Waterford for the night.