COBH+and+the+DROMBEG+STONE+CIRCLE

=**COBH and the DROMBEG STONE CIRCLE -** ****SHEEP'S HEAD and BANTRY****=

Cobh (pronounced Cove) is the sea port for Cork and was the main point of departure for the emmigrants who left Ireland. Originally called Cove it's name was changed to Queenstown following a visit by Queen Victoria in 1849 but it reverted to its Irish name in 1920 just before the handover of power from the British. Migrants came here to board ships especially after the terrible potato famines between 1845 and 1851. From that period until 1950 over 6 million adults and children emigrated from Ireland - over 2.5 million of these left from Cobh. The Heritage Centre has a good exhibition detailing much of the hardships encountered as well as details about Irish convicts transported to Australia. Cobh was also the last port of call for the Titanic in 1912 and the rescue port for the survivors of the Lusitania in 1915.
 * [[image:cobh.jpg caption="Annie Moore and her two brothers, the first emigrants to go through the immigration centre on Ellis Island, New York in 1892"]] || [[image:cobh1.jpg caption="Cobh mainstreet right on the seafront"]] ||
 * [[image:cobh2.jpg]] || [[image:cobh4.jpg]] ||

DROMBEG STONE CIRCLE
This stone circle was used c. 945 - 830 BC and is supposed to be one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland - the afternoon we visited we were the only ones there! It is 9m in diameter and is set up so that the stones in the circle are shaped to slope upwards to the recumbent stone, the midpoint of which was set in line with the winter solstice sunset viewed in a conspicuous notch in the distant hills. Nearby are the ruins of two round stone walled conjoined prehistoric huts and a fulacht fiadh. For those that don't know, a fulacht fiadh was a cooking "pot" hut - heated stones were placed into a trough of water and when boiling, the meat would be added - experiments carried out recently showed that 70 gallons (320 litres) of water could be brought to the boil in 18 minutes. Evidence suggests the fulacht fiadh was in use up until the 5th century AD. All very interesting and set overlooking a fantastic rural scene with the sea in the far distance. On our way "home" we had a quick stopover in Ballydehob where these two bridges caught our attention. The larger 12 arched one is a disused railway bridge. **SHEEP'S HEAD and BANTRY**  
 * [[image:cobh6.jpg]] || [[image:cobh5.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:cobh7.jpg]] || [[image:cobh3.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:cobh8.jpg]] || [[image:cobh9.jpg]] ||