ELTIPS AV R T

Our few days in Cobh, a pretty town on the coast of Cork, Ireland, easily gave us all that.

It used to be called Cove, then some local notable ruled it should be named Queenstown after our monarch Victoria visited in 1849.

But locals reclaimed it after the Irish Free State was born in the early 1920s, and it went back to its old name – only in Gaelic, hence Cobh.

Or as one US tourist laughingly pronounced it, “Cob with an ‘h’!”

It’s known the world over as the last port called at in 1912 by the doomed ship RMS Titanic.

Indeed, one reason for my visit was that my late grandmother is an official cancelled passenger on the ill-fated liner, departing for the US one day later instead.

Margaret Martin was just 19 when she followed in her siblings’ footsteps to join the 2.5million Irish people who left through Cobh between 1848 and 1950 for a life in the new world.

I’d seen in New York where Margaret arrived but I’d never ventured to this part of the motherland. Thankfully, she cancelled her passage and was not one of the 123 people to embark at Cork that day. The tours at the Jameson Whiskey Distillery can get very busy – it’s well worth booking ahead at jamesonwhiskey.com to ensure that you get a slot. If you’re not taking your own vehicle, then a hire car is essential when you get there for exploring the area, as public transport is limited. Pack a raincoat and a few thin layers of clothing as the weather is very changeable in this part of Ireland and can get very wet. dr tha gin top