Some interesting facts about County Cork:
The first steam ship to travel between Ireland and England sailed from Cobh in 1821.
On the 4th April 1838, a small Irish paddle-streamer the 'Sirius', quietly slipped out of Cobh on her way to becoming the first ship ever to cross the Atlantic under steam alone. She arrived in New York, 18 days later on the 22nd April, just hours ahead of the much bigger and faster 'Great Western'.
The most famous ship of all time the 'unsinkable' Titanic, made her last stop at Cobh in 1912. Many of her passengers had stayed for several days at Cobh, while they waited for the Titanic to arrive from Southampton.
On the 7th May 1915, the British liner 'Lusitania' was torpedoed by a German submarine off the Old Head of Kinsale near to Cork Harbour. She blew up, with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans. Perhaps it was this action that brought the US into World One. Many of the victims were washed up in Cork Harbour and are buried in the Old Church Cemetery just outside Cobh, others are in the churchyard at Kinsale. Survivors were brought into Cobh to recover and many joined in a memorial service in St. Colman's Cathedral. Three years previous there had been a service in memory of those lost on the 'Titanic'.
There are memorials to both the 'Titanic' and the 'Lusitania on the water-front in Cobh.
The oldest yacht club in the world, the Royal Cork Yacht Club, founded in 1720, is based at Cobh.
Coming right up to date. It will be an exciting weekend of celebrations in Bantry on August 11th - 13th to celebrate the opening of their new 9million euro harbour and marina development. The works will lead to an upturn in marine tourism in the area and will build on the success of the Wild Atlantic Way. Work to the pier means there is an improved berthage available for large marine vessels, which will hopefully lead to an upturn in marine leisure in and around the harbour. At 35km long, Bantry Bay is the largest of the long marine inlets in the south west. Congratulations to all involved.