May 1, 2024

Last night we had the Oceania Club party for this segment of our cruise, the last for us, of course.

And the beautiful sky!

Our port today is Cobh, Ireland which is the port for cruise ships and is near Cork. Here are some pictures from our sail in.

We have been here before and really enjoyed the town. This time we opted for a tour to the village of Kinsdale. Our guide was Noreen and our driver, Willie. I specifically mention the driver because he had to navigate on some small windy roads and did a great job with cars, trucks and buses coming the opposite way.

The sun was shining and the temperature was over 50 degrees today. Noreen told us that March was the wettest month ever here and the farmers really suffered. They could not let the cows out to graze and the fields are still flooded so the crops will all be behind, creating an economic problem for the farmers and for the country. It impacts milk production and the butter that is the second biggest seller in the US, Kerry Gold.

It took about an hour to drive to Kinsdale, so Noreen told us lots of facts about the area on the way.

Cobh has the second largest natural harbor in the world, Sydney is the largest.

The city was named Queenstown from 1849-1922 after Queen Victoria.

This was the Titanic’s final port of call before heading to New York. There is a museum here that we have visited on a previous trip. 123 people boarded here and only 44 survived.

Cork county is the largest county in Ireland with 500,000 people.

We passed a ship that Noreen told us was seized and 160 million euros worth of cocaine was aboard.

The Gaelic language is on all signs along with English and it is compulsory to study through high school.

Henry Ford was from Cork and for a time -1919-1984 – there was a Ford factory here. Cars are very expensive here but Fords are still popular.

Apple is the biggest employer and employs 5,000 people in the European headquarters here.

Biking is big here, Noreen says they are called MAMIL – middle aged men in Lycra!

There are also many pharmaceutical companies here. We could see the Pfizer plant where they make Viagra – Noreen says the employees are called the “Pfizer risers!”

The oldest sailing club in the world is here, founded in 1723. And since the pandemic, sea swimming has become popular. The water is COLD but it is still popular.

The Disney family has a property here in Cork County and visits every year.

They will have a ceremony to honor the Lusitania on May 7 – it was sunk on that date in 1915.

Before reaching the village, we made a stop at Charles Fort which is a historic star-shaped fortification built in the late 17th century during the reign of King Charles II of England. It’s located near the town of Kinsale and overlooks the entrance to Kinsale Harbor. The fort has played a significant role in Irish history, including the Williamite War and the Irish War of Independence.

Kinsdale is a nice small village. There was a farmer’s market and nice shops. I did buy an Aran sweater.

We had a few raindrops but all in all it was a nice day.

Here are some of the sights from the way back to the ship.

It was a nice day in the beautiful green countryside of Cork County.

We found that the British Pound and the Euro are bargains for us with the current exchange rate.