cobh
Cobh
Cobh (pronounced 'Cove') first attracted the eye of the world when England was using it as a base in the 18th century war with France of which the American Revolution was such an important aspect. The city is actually on Great Island, the largest island in Cork harbor. The gengle, dry weather is popular with the Irish and, inerestingly, the Lusitania was sunken not far off the Cobh coawst in 1915.
Great Island is the largest island in Cork Harbour, one of the biggest harbours in the world. The main town on the island is Cobh, formerly Queenstown, and before that Cove. The earliest churches were erected in the 6th century, but there are no visible remains. The ancient stone churches, of which only a few ruins remain, may have been erected any time between the eighth and fifteenth centuries. Cobh came to prosperity in the 19th century, with the building of the Naval Base at Haulbowline and was the main exit point for emigrants to the United States.
Following the Reformation at the end of the 16th century all the existing Catholic churches were appropriated for Protestant worship, although there were very few Protestants on the island. It was only in the 18th century that Catholics were again allowed to practice their religion. They began to build "chapels" which were for the most part "mean, thatched cabins, most of them open at one end." But it was only in the 19th century that most of the churches on the island were built.
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