Cobh

Cobh, Ireland: emigrants

Cobh, Irish An Cóbh, seaport and naval station, County Cork, Ireland, on the south side of Great Island and on a hill above the harbour of Cork city. The Cathedral of St. Colman crowns the hill. In 1838 the steamer Sirius set out from Cobh to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, taking 18 ¹/₂ days. Renamed Queenstown in honour of Queen Victoria in 1849, the town retained this name until 1922. Cobh became a military and naval centre and port of embarkation for troops, and it remains the chief Irish port of call for transatlantic liners. Pop. (2002) 6,767; (2011) 6,500.