Saturday May 10th

The weather today didn’t look too good as we set out for Cobh.  Paddy (Brother Bede, a Presentation Brother) met us at the hotel and was to be our guide for the day. We had been warned that there were first communion celebrations today in Cobh and it turned out that there was also a cruise ship due in so we expected it to be busy. First stop was the heritage centre on the wharf from where the sisters who started St Mary’s College set out in July 1866.

Cobh was also the departure port for many Irish immigrants to Australia and for Irish convicts who were sent to Van Dieman’s land. Convicts awaiting transportation were held on Spike Island in the middle of the harbour.  

In the heritage centre I saw a display of bonnets made in Tasmania and other parts of Australia to commemorate the lives of the thousands of female convicts transported to Australia.

There is also a huge Titanic display in Cobh as it was the last port of call for the ship before she set off across the Atlantic. Evidently a Jesuit priest, Fr Browne travelled to Cobh (then called Queenstown) to visit an uncle and was enjoying the experience so much he asked the bishop for permission to continue on the trip.  Permission was denied (“Get off the boat” was the message I believe).  This was later used as an example of why a priest should always obey the bishop!

Out next stop was the Cobh Cathedral, a very large and extremely ornate building.  

Evidently there is no section of any wall which is not decorated. 

Luckily when we arrived the first communion services had finished but we did run across groups which included girls in long white dresses and veils at our lunch venue and again at the restaurant at our hotel tonight. 

After lunch we returned to Cork and visited the home of the Presentation Brothers. This is a huge monastery (I guess) where most of the building has been converted into accommodation for needy elderly residents of Cork and members of religious orders from around the world. 

Fundraising for the accommodation is done by a charity called SHARE (Students Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly) which is basically run by Cork students in their second last year of secondary school. The program is hugely successful and it is a great advantage for students, when seeking a job, to have held a position on the executive of SHARE.  

Last item on the agenda for the day was a visit to a Blarney Castle, just outside Cork. 

We climbed the tower (a very narrow and dark circular staircase) and kissed the Blarney Stone – and bought the photo to prove it. It took about half an hour for my legs to return to normal after being reduced to jelly by the experience.