For our third week in Ireland, I wanted to stay in Cork: second largest city in the Republic of Ireland, seat of the largest county, culinary capital of the country, vibrant university town, active pub scene, and home to many fine craft breweries. But Airbnb wasn’t coming up with anything I was willing to rent. There was, however, a very fine self-catering apartment in a hotel in nearby Cóbh….

Cobb? Never heard of it. My Fodor’s guidebook doesn’t even have it. It wasn’t until we were watching a documentary on Ireland several months ago that I heard the name said aloud; it’s pronounced Cove. And it wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I learned that Fodor’s does have it, but they call it Cork Harbour. It is, indeed, at the mouth of the River Lee, about 10 miles downriver from Cork.

Cóbh went by several different Irish names before the British started calling it Cove, short for Cove of Cork. When Queen Victoria visited in 1849 to check in on the famine victims, Cove was renamed Queenstown, which I find ironic. She didn’t even get off the royal yacht while she was here, but chose to stay on board so she could sketch and paint. 

If you’ve ever read any books about Irish emigration, you’ve probably heard of Queenstown. Many ships, even if they originated in other Irish cities, called in at Queenstown as the last port of call before heading out to North and South America or Australia. Queenstown was the final port of call for the Titanic, too, in 1912. When the Free State of Ireland was created in 1918, the Irish went back to using the name Cove, although with the Irish spelling. The word cóbh has no meaning in Irish.

This city has so many aliases, it’s amazing we found it at all! But we are glad we did. It is a beautiful little seaside resort, and we have a spectacular view of the harbor from our apartment up here on Spy Hill. And should we feel the need, Cork is only a 20-minute drive away.