Cobh

<p>Cobh, County Cork, 1950</p>
<p>A view of the harbour front in Cobh in County Cork in the early 1950s. The largest island in Cork Harbour is Great Island located on the northern shore of the lower harbour. The largest town on the island is Cobh (known as Queenstown from 1849 to 1920). Cobh’s economic and social history has historically been linked to shipbuilding and naval activities. One of the major transatlantic Irish ports, Cobh was the departure point for approximately 2.5 million of the 6 million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. The photograph (taken from the terraces on Westbourne Place) shows on the left the balconies of the Commodore Hotel which opened in 1854 as the Queens Hotel. Political events prompted a name change in 1921 and the hotel was rebranded the States Hotel. It was given its current name in 1939. The building on the right is the original White Star Line Ticket Office which served as the embarkation point for thousands of Irish emigrants travelling to the United States including the 123 passengers who boarded the ill-fated ‘Titanic’ in April 1912. The building now houses the Titanic Experience tourist attraction. The print is taken from a bound volume containing a collection of photographs of Irish cities and towns intended for publication in ‘The Capuchin Annual</p>


Cobh 1950

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