Goes to Ireland - Killarney to Cobh Great British Railway Journeys


Goes to Ireland - Killarney to Cobh

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In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain and Ireland.

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His name was George Bradshaw,

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and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.

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Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,

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what to see and where to stay.

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Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length

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and breadth of these islands to see what of Bradshaw's world remains.

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In pursuit of my railway journeys,

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I've once more crossed the Irish Sea.

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When my Bradshaw's Descriptive Railway Handbook

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of Great Britain and Ireland was published in the 1860s,

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Britain and Ireland were a single state

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under the reign of Queen Victoria.

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My journey will take me from the rugged beauty of County Kerry,

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across Ireland's rural Midlands,

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and deposit me on the west coast at Galway.

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On today's journey, I'll be sampling this region's Victorian delicacies.

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I will be able to taste butter that has been absorbed through

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-the shell of this egg.

-You certainly will indeed, Michael.

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Mmm! I certainly do!

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Exploring a stunning landscape shot to fame by rails and royals.

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If it was good enough for the royal family,

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-it was good enough for everyone.

-That's true.

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And risking life and limb for the gift of the gab.

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-You have got to be kidding.

-Just a little now.

-Here goes then.

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I look forward to being eloquent.

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Using my Bradshaw's Guide, I'm on tracks which opened up

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the rich resources of the southern part of the island of Ireland

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to tourists and trade.

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I'll then travel north to discover the isle's Victorian heart

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before turning west to finish in picturesque Galway.

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Today's stretch begins in Killarney's National Park,

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then takes me east through Mallow, and on to Cork and the coast.

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My first stop is one of this verdant island's renowned beauty spots.

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With delightful Victorian pomposity, my Bradshaw's says,

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"To the majority of men who rush from smoky London

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"and the cares of business,

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"to feast their eyes upon the beauty and to inhale the fresh air

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"of the fields, lakes and mountains, we recommend a trip to Ireland,

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"and the lovely lakes of Killarney."

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Really, my Bradshaw's

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rarely bestowed such praise as on this place.

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The countryside around Killarney is famous

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for its scenic lakes and mountains.

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And my guide book is lyrical about its silvern beauty

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and wild grandeur.

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Bradshaw's is definitive about where the railway tourist should begin.

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"Whether his day is long or short,

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"the first excursion he should make is to the far-famed Gap of Dunloe."

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I'm heading straight there to meet guide Mike O'Connor. Hello, Mike.

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-Hello, Michael. You're welcome to the Gap of Dunloe.

-What is the Gap?

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The Gap of Dunloe is a glacial breach.

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The ice moving in a northeasterly direction gouged out this

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wonderful valley for all of us to enjoy today.

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It is a fantastic sight.

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Bradshaw's has five pages on Killarney.

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He says the usual mode of proceeding is to hire a car or pony

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and ride halfway through the pass.

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"By this journey you will be able to see all the most celebrated

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"and remarkable portions of the scenery,

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"and to learn from the civil, well-informed and garrulous guides."

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-I'm hoping that might be you, Mike.

-Thank you. I hope it will.

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'Amazingly, I can still tour the gap in a traditional horse and trap.'

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Hello! 'Just as Victorians would have.'

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-All right to jump aboard?

-Get on board.

-Thank you.

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Until the mid-19th century, this landscape was a well-kept secret,

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enjoyed by the locals and landed elite.

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But that was soon to change.

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1853, the coming of the railway, it opened up Killarney.

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Some say it was like a continental airport opening, brought people in.

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But I would say it was like the information superhighway opening.

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The mail could get out,

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the telegraph lines were run along the railway tracks,

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and communications with the outside world,

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that all helped in no small way.

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The rails brought visitors to explore this remote region,

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and it was a certain VIP who really brought fame to Killarney.

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It is very clear that Killarney today attracts a lot of tourists.

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That actually has a lot to do with Queen Victoria herself, doesn't it?

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Yes, Queen Vic came in August 1861 and spent three nights in Killarney,

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and, of course, all the newspapers of the day sent over their best

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illustrators and their writers,

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and some of the sketches that went back were definitely a big influence

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in the people travelling to where royalty travelled.

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If it was good enough for the royal family,

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-it was good enough for everyone.

-That's true.

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Queen Victoria's visit helped to put Killarney on the map.

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But I don't suppose that she risked her dignity as I'm about to.

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It says here, the guides being generally provided

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with a bugle, produce notes which are echoed back again by the

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Carrantual on one side and the purple mountains on the other.

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And I can't help noticing that you've brought a bugle.

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-Shall we give it a go?

-Yes, we will.

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'Unfortunately, today's guides aren't practiced buglers,

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'so testing the echo falls to me.'

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SPLUTTERING

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SPLUTTERING WITH FAINT BUGLE SOUND

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SPLUTTERING

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SPLUTTERING

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BUGLE ECHOES

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That was not so bad.

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Even my bugling can't spoil Killarney's National Park.

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It's 100 square kilometres of mountains,

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woodland and the famous lakes which my guide book ranks amongst

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the finest in the British Isles.

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It says, "Lochs Lomond, Katrine and Windermere, beautiful as they are,

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"do not possess the various attractions

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"of these small but most lovely lakes."

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-Hello.

-Morning, Michael.

-Morning, Dermot.

-Thank you very much indeed.

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Back in 1861, a highlight of Queen Victoria's visit

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was a stately cruise on these peaceful waters.

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Quite a lot of spectators took to the water too.

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There are reports that it was up to 800 boats, but I think that is a lot

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of boats, actually, given the size of our lakes, but there were

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quite a lot of people who actually came out and just rode around.

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The state barge was the biggest boat on this lake itself,

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and it was very elaborate.

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So, Killarney witnessed, in 1861, something of a royal regatta.

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Absolutely. One could say that definitely.

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While touring the lakes, Bradshaw's instructs me

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to look out for the arbutus tree, saying,

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"Nowhere is it found in such rich luxuriance as at Killarney."

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This rare shrub usually grows only in Spain or Portugal,

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but flourishes here thanks to the Gulf Stream.

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In the 19th century, Killarney craftsmen discovered its

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fine-grained wood was perfect for creating intricate inlaid furniture.

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I've come to nearby Muckross House to view its exquisite

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collection with guide, Anne Tangney.

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-Anne.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

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I've been reading about, and indeed seeing, arbutus trees,

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and this table is an arbutus?

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These were made from arbutus and yew wood.

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It was a thriving industry in Killarney in the 1850s.

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And there were about six families involved in it.

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And they employed 40 or 50 people.

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And the lovely features in this are the scenes of Killarney.

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-See here, Muckross Abbey?

-Yes.

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The Old Weir Bridge,

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-which I believe you passed by today, when you were on your travels.

-I did.

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And again, another featured image, always put on their pieces,

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is the actual arbutus tree itself.

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-So if you can see, look at the fruit of it here.

-How lovely.

-Lovely.

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These days, Muckross is open to the public,

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but in the 19th century it was the home of the local MP.

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In 1861, the royal party came to stay here,

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and a special piece of furniture was sculpted for the Queen's suite.

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So, did Queen Victoria actually stay in these rooms?

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Yes, these three rooms were given over for her complete stay.

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This was her boudoir, her private sitting room.

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Is this piece the gift she was given?

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Yes, this is the piece that three craftsmen worked on for many,

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-many months.

-How fabulous. What a perfect gift for a queen.

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A beautiful piece,

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and we're delighted to still have it here in the house.

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I'm now leaving this beautiful landscape to continue my journey.

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I shall long remember Killarney,

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which even on a wet day is mournfully magnificent.

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I'm travelling east, along the line which opened up this region to

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commerce and visitors in the 1850s.

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My guidebook has brought me into County Cork,

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and I'll soon be arriving at the town of Mallow,

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which is known as the crossroads of Munster,

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because this railway line from west to east

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is intersected by another travelling north to south.

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Munster is one of Ireland's four historic provinces.

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With the arrival of the rails came day-trippers and holidaymakers,

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hungry for heritage.

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I'm leaving the train at Mallow to explore an imposing

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fortification, irresistible to readers of my Bradshaw's Guide.

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The magnificent, 15th century Blarney Castle.

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Its picturesque ruins chimed with the ideals of romanticism,

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which was popular at the turn of the 19th century.

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And in 1887, a special railway line

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was built to bring visitors to its gates.

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They made a beeline for the tower, to seek the famous Blarney Stone,

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of which my guide book writes,

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"To kiss it, the traveller must be lowered 20 feet.

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"When having kissed it, nobody can refuse you anything."

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Can it really be that you have to be lowered 20 feet to kiss the stone?

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Time will tell.

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Victorian romantics were entranced by the stories which abound

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regarding this famous stone.

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Some believe it was the pillow of a Gaelic saint,

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others that it's a sacred rock brought to Ireland

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from Jerusalem during the Crusades.

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Whatever the truth, kissing it is supposed to make you persuasive.

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Dennis Cronin helps tourists to get their lips in position.

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-Hello.

-Would you be Dennis? I would indeed, Michael.

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-Well, I've come about this stone.

-Yes.

-What will it do for me?

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-It will give you the gift of the gab.

-I'm very short of that.

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The origins of the ritual are lost,

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but by the 19th century, it was an established tradition.

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Thankfully, my guide book's description

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of a 20-foot drop is exaggerated.

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But even so, kissing the stone requires more dexterity

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than your average snog.

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-What's the method here then, Dennis?

-We'll show you very easily.

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Be seated with your back to the wall, my good friend.

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-Back to the wall, eh? Well, I'm used to that all right.

-And come to me.

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Raise your hands, left and right, please, and hold the bars.

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-Drift this way a little. Head back.

-You have GOT to be kidding.

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-Just a little now. More.

-OK, here goes then.

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I look forward to being eloquent.

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-Very good. Back up to me.

-Oh, that's the difficult bit.

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Oh, Dennis, I suddenly feel as though I could speak very

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eloquently in many tongues.

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-And you've enjoyed.

-Oh, what a wonderful way to end the day.

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-Thanks.

-Bye, friend.

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Since the mid-19th century, the Blarney estate has been owned

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by the Colthurst family

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who built the impressive Blarney House in the grounds.

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-Charles.

-Michael.

-How good of you to have me to stay.

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-You're very, very welcome.

-What a lovely, lovely house.

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Constructed in the Scottish baronial style in the 1870s,

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the house has recently been restored to full Victorian grandeur.

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Although it's open to the public, it's a rare privilege to sleep here.

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Here we are, we're coming into the North Room,

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which will be your bedroom for the night.

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Turret with a bath, and then out the north window

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we have a very good view of the castle to the north

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and that will be floodlit later on tonight.

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A turret with a bath and a room with a view of a castle.

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I shall sleep very well, Charles. Thank you so much.

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You're most welcome, and I hope you do.

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After a restful night in the shadow of Blarney Castle,

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I'm retracing my steps to Mallow station.

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-Which platform for Cork?

-This side, sir. Just here beside us.

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-Thank you. Bye.

-Bye.

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My next train will carry me

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south towards the capital of this beautiful region.

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I'm following the Great Southern and Western Railway,

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begun in the 1840s to link the fertile south to Dublin.

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The train from Mallow rolls through beautiful green countryside,

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so typical of Ireland,

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but my Bradshaw's promises me a contrast when we arrive

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in Cork - "A city port and capital of County Cork,

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"and Munster province on the River Lee.

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"The rail reaches the town by a tunnel half a mile long."

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I believe the tunnel is still there, and from what I remember,

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the city bears the marks of its splendid maritime heritage.

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The building of the tunnel was led by William Dargan,

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father of the Irish railways, and Sir John MacNeill.

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It took seven years to construct at the cost of several lives.

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It was finally completed in 1855, ready to carry passengers

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and freight from the city of Cork.

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The end of the half-mile tunnel tells us

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that we have arrived at Cork, at the station known as Kent.

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The current station opened in 1893 but was renamed in 1966

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to commemorate nationalist rebel Thomas Kent,

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executed by the British after the 1916 rising.

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At that time, the city was

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a stronghold of anti-British sentiment,

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but in the 1800s it was a loyal city that had strong links with

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the Empire, forged through trade.

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Cork today bustles with tourists, but my Bradshaw's Guide notes,

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"There's a large export trade to

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"the value of £3 million in grain, cattle, whiskey, provisions

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"and especially country butter."

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And that flow of comestibles laid the ground for the development

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of retail markets to supply the local people with delicious products

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from this fertile land.

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The best place to sample the finest Cork produce is the English Market

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in the heart of the city.

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Local historian Dermot O'Driscoll knows its rich history.

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-Dermot!

-Hi.

-How lovely to see you.

-Good to meet you, Michael.

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-What a beautiful market.

-Amazing, isn't it? We're really proud of it.

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Well, you should be. How old is it?

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This market was opened in 1788, so it's 220, 225 years old now.

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And the architecture I'm looking at at the moment,

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-that maybe is not quite as old as that.

-Not as old.

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This section of the market was rebuilt in 1862.

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Which is about the time Queen Victoria was visiting Ireland,

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and the time of my Bradshaw's Guide.

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Around the time the market was founded, the rulers of the

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expanding empire were utilising Cork's local bounty to the full.

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The hinterland of Cork, very rich, great for grain growing,

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excellent for beef growing,

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which led to a huge trade in beef for provisioning ships,

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your former colonies in the east coast of America and the Caribbean.

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Cork butter had an international reputation from the middle

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of the 18th century, and that was exported around the world.

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Initially, Cork produce was exported by boat.

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But the advent of rail transport gave the city an extra edge.

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Many of those things in the middle of the 19th century,

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they could be picked up from their point of origin by train,

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and brought here to Cork and then sent on by sea.

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From about the 1850s onwards, there were six different rail lines

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radiating out of the city.

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The main one up to Dublin,

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and then others to west and east Cork.

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As the decades went on through the 1850s, '60s and so on,

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they made connections,

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especially with the seaports on the west Cork coast.

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The English Market is so called because its founders,

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the City Corporation,

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were Protestant Conservatives loyal to the Crown.

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The name fell out of favour in the 20th century,

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when the island of Ireland was riven by troubles.

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But in recent decades, tensions have eased,

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and the name has gained currency again.

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In 2011, the market even welcomed the Queen on an official visit.

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You've lived through troubled periods, as I have.

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Were you not astonished by the idea that the British Queen

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would be able to visit the Republic of Ireland?

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Did you see that one coming?

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Attitudes have changed on all sides. People understand the past better.

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We are all more open now and maybe more forgiving,

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and it's better to look forward than to look back all the time.

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The modern market offers some local specialities,

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born out of necessity in the days before refrigeration.

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I'm keen to try so-called battleboard,

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dried salt fish that got its name from its plank-like appearance.

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Now, Michael, here's some of the battleboard,

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and an old battleboard here, Pat O'Connell, who's the fishmonger.

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THEY LAUGH

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Pat, very good to see you.

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Hello, Michael. Very pleased to meet you.

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And this is the stock fish of the battleboard.

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It looks incredibly salty. Incredibly salty.

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It is incredibly salty, but it tastes really, really good.

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The secret is that you soak it overnight.

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Because if you take it like this,

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you're going to end up an alcoholic in a very short time!

0:19:040:19:07

-May I try some, please?,

-Come over here and we'll have a try.

0:19:090:19:12

I'll give you a little taste.

0:19:120:19:13

Well, I must say, it looks a great deal better now

0:19:160:19:18

than it does over there.

0:19:180:19:20

It is a little bit. Spot the difference!

0:19:200:19:22

You're going to do Mother, are you?

0:19:220:19:23

I'll do Mother, yeah.

0:19:230:19:25

Now this is the old traditional way, where you soak it overnight.

0:19:260:19:31

You boil it up, change the water the next morning,

0:19:320:19:35

and then you boil it up with some onion and some good Irish potatoes.

0:19:350:19:39

Very important.

0:19:390:19:41

-That's good.

-It is powerfully salty still, isn't it? But it is lovely.

0:19:460:19:51

That is the nature of it.

0:19:510:19:53

Well, thank you very much, and your very good health, sir.

0:19:530:19:56

Slainte!

0:19:560:19:57

That's what I meant to say!

0:19:570:19:59

Salting fish is just one way in which locals preserved

0:20:000:20:03

food in Victorian times.

0:20:030:20:05

Thrifty farmers' wives had a clever method for keeping eggs fresh.

0:20:050:20:09

Michael, this is Gerry Moynihan,

0:20:090:20:11

and we're here to sample some buttered eggs.

0:20:110:20:13

-Very welcome to our market, Michael.

-Oh, thank you.

0:20:130:20:16

-Now, buttered eggs, that does sound intriguing.

-Yes.

0:20:160:20:18

May I try one, please?

0:20:180:20:19

Sure, we'll give you this nice fresh one here, nice and freshly boiled.

0:20:190:20:22

Thank you very much. So, what is a buttered egg?

0:20:220:20:24

Has it got butter inside it?

0:20:240:20:26

Well, no, there is butter inside it, but the shell is covered

0:20:260:20:30

with butter and it's done when the egg is very, very fresh.

0:20:300:20:32

The old theory was that the egg should be actually taken

0:20:320:20:35

before the hen missed the egg, as such.

0:20:350:20:37

It's coated with butter, it seals the shell of the egg,

0:20:370:20:40

and it preserves the egg at that level of freshness.

0:20:400:20:42

So I will be able to taste butter,

0:20:420:20:44

that has been absorbed through the shell of this egg.

0:20:440:20:46

You certainly will indeed, Michael.

0:20:460:20:49

-Mmm! I certainly do.

-Very nice.

0:20:490:20:51

Now this one may catch on.

0:20:510:20:54

In the 19th century, with the prime cuts of

0:20:540:20:57

beef and pork being reserved for export and affluent customers,

0:20:570:21:00

the less well-off locals had to get creative with what was left.

0:21:000:21:04

This is Kathleen here, at O'Reillys.

0:21:040:21:06

Hello, Kathleen. Very nice to see you.

0:21:060:21:08

Makers and sellers of drisheen and tripe.

0:21:080:21:10

-Kathleen, what is drisheen?

-It's a pure blood pudding.

0:21:100:21:13

It's just the blood from the cow or the sheep.

0:21:140:21:16

And what do you serve it with?

0:21:160:21:18

We serve it with the tripe, and you can have some potato with it,

0:21:180:21:22

or some bread, but we just serve it with the tripe here.

0:21:220:21:24

Well, let me have a go then.

0:21:240:21:25

So, the white bits are the tripe?

0:21:290:21:31

-Cooked in milk with onions, isn't it?

-That's right.

0:21:310:21:36

-Now I'll go for this.

-The drisheen. That's the real taste of Cork now.

0:21:360:21:40

Mmmm!

0:21:420:21:44

It's quite mild, actually, isn't it? It's quite mild.

0:21:470:21:50

-Now you're longing for some, aren't you, Dermot?

-Yeah, can't wait!

0:21:500:21:53

THEY LAUGH

0:21:530:21:55

Thank you so much for that.

0:21:550:21:57

'After a true taste of Victorian Ireland,

0:21:570:21:59

'I'm full of energy for the last leg of my journey.'

0:21:590:22:02

I'm taking a short hop down to the coast,

0:22:080:22:10

to the harbour that brought Cork its wealth.

0:22:100:22:13

This beautiful waterside railway is leading me towards Cobh,

0:22:150:22:18

and my Bradshaw's says, "The noble harbour surrounded

0:22:180:22:21

"by hills on all sides is five miles long,

0:22:210:22:25

"having room and water enough for hundreds of vessels of any size."

0:22:250:22:29

And I have a feeling that a port of such dimensions must have played

0:22:290:22:33

a substantial part in Irish history.

0:22:330:22:36

My guide book refers to Cobh as Queenstown,

0:22:400:22:42

so named in honour of a royal visit in 1849.

0:22:420:22:46

The harbour that Victoria and Albert saw was thronged with

0:22:480:22:51

vessels, from battleships to pleasure craft.

0:22:510:22:54

"Cobh...", my Bradshaw's tells me, "..is situated on a steep terrace

0:22:540:22:57

"on Great Island, with its yacht club and pretty bathing rooms."

0:22:570:23:03

Yacht club? That sounds both historic and exclusive.

0:23:030:23:06

I shall investigate.

0:23:060:23:07

This small seaside town has played a big role in maritime history.

0:23:090:23:13

I'm meeting Eddie English, who hails from a long line of Cobh sailors.

0:23:130:23:17

Eddie, hello.

0:23:170:23:18

-Cead mile failte!

-Thank you so much, it's very nice to be welcomed here.

0:23:180:23:22

I'm interested in your yacht club, because my Bradshaw's mentions it.

0:23:220:23:25

Very historic, is it?

0:23:250:23:27

This is the oldest yacht club in the world, the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

0:23:270:23:31

Founded in the early 18th century,

0:23:310:23:33

the club claims to be the oldest still going today,

0:23:330:23:36

and has its current headquarters in nearby Crosshaven.

0:23:360:23:40

But in Victorian times it was based here in Cobh,

0:23:400:23:43

and in 1854 its members moved into this grand Italianate clubhouse.

0:23:430:23:48

That is a very fine building for a yacht club,

0:23:490:23:51

so I'm beginning to think that yachting is not

0:23:510:23:53

just about being on a boat, there's also a social side of things.

0:23:530:23:56

Well, the social life was very important,

0:23:560:23:58

but, more so than other clubs, the Royal Cork Yacht Club was

0:23:580:24:00

always a sailing club and they went sailing.

0:24:000:24:03

So you had big, huge yachts racing here,

0:24:030:24:05

they'd go off out the harbour, way off, a 50-mile course, come back,

0:24:050:24:09

finish here, celebrations here, and in the big houses around the town.

0:24:090:24:14

I get the impression that Cobh absolutely bristles with history.

0:24:140:24:17

May we take a tour and find out more?

0:24:170:24:19

We certainly can. Step this way.

0:24:190:24:21

Eddie's letting me take the helm as we explore

0:24:220:24:24

this lovely stretch of water.

0:24:240:24:26

I'll just put it back in the middle. That's it.

0:24:300:24:32

We're pushing that way.

0:24:330:24:35

As well as being long,

0:24:350:24:36

the harbour is also deep enough for even the biggest vessels,

0:24:360:24:39

including some which pushed the boundaries of Victorian technology.

0:24:390:24:44

My Bradshaw's tells me that the Sirius, under Captain Roberts,

0:24:440:24:47

was the second steamer to cross the Atlantic,

0:24:470:24:51

leaving Cobh on the 1st June, 1838,

0:24:510:24:54

and taking 17 days to reach New York.

0:24:540:24:57

Yeah, well, she crossed the Atlantic, and as you mentioned

0:24:570:25:00

Captain Roberts, I met his great, great, great grandson today,

0:25:000:25:04

who's a friend of mine, and they're very proud of their heritage.

0:25:040:25:09

And, in fact, she crossed the Atlantic twice.

0:25:090:25:11

She was chartered from the City of Cork Steam Packet Company,

0:25:110:25:14

and was the first passenger vessel to cross the Atlantic under steam.

0:25:140:25:19

Very soon, steamships like the Sirius were to carry

0:25:210:25:24

unprecedented numbers of passengers, seeking to escape to a new life.

0:25:240:25:28

Now, following the great Irish Hunger of 1848, millions emigrated,

0:25:320:25:36

and Cobh was one of the main places they left from, wasn't it?

0:25:360:25:39

It certainly was.

0:25:390:25:40

Cobh was very well connected, especially when the railways came.

0:25:400:25:44

It was connected with the railways in 1862,

0:25:440:25:46

and from then on people just poured into Cobh from all

0:25:460:25:49

corners of Ireland, and indeed from England, because they could

0:25:490:25:53

get the mail packet across, and then get the train down to Cobh.

0:25:530:25:57

Huge numbers went from Cobh to several different

0:25:570:25:59

destinations on the east coast of the States and also Canada.

0:25:590:26:04

It's a very poignant thought, isn't it,

0:26:040:26:07

to think of those people so desperate,

0:26:070:26:09

and yet also so full of hope?

0:26:090:26:11

Right up until the 1950s,

0:26:110:26:13

Cobh was this island's most important emigration port,

0:26:130:26:16

and it also played a role

0:26:160:26:18

in two of maritime history's most terrible disasters.

0:26:180:26:21

What's the connection with the Titanic?

0:26:210:26:23

Well, Cobh, was a major port of call for the transatlantic liners,

0:26:230:26:27

and then the Titanic, a major occasion, came here, her last

0:26:270:26:31

port of call before the unfortunate disaster with the iceberg.

0:26:310:26:35

A couple of years later we had the terrible tragedy

0:26:350:26:38

of the sinking of the Lusitania.

0:26:380:26:40

It was due here into Cobh,

0:26:400:26:41

a regular caller, and a much-loved ship,

0:26:410:26:43

and huge connections with Cobh.

0:26:430:26:45

-Sunk by a German U-boat.

-That's correct.

0:26:450:26:48

Yes, just 20 miles from here.

0:26:480:26:49

The advent of air travel spelled the end of the great ocean liners,

0:26:510:26:55

but Cobh hasn't entirely lost its link with adventure on the sea.

0:26:550:26:59

The railway's still there,

0:27:000:27:02

and I think it's a much happier operation now,

0:27:020:27:04

because it's the people, the holiday makers on cruise liners, they

0:27:040:27:08

get off the ships and they get on the railway and they go up to Cork.

0:27:080:27:12

So, the connection is still there.

0:27:120:27:14

It's good to know that Victorian tracks provide continuity

0:27:150:27:19

with this region's past.

0:27:190:27:21

But, thankfully, some things have changed for the better.

0:27:210:27:24

Queen Victoria was awed by the beauty of the lakes

0:27:260:27:29

and mountains of southern Ireland.

0:27:290:27:32

But just a short time after her last visit here,

0:27:320:27:34

this country fought for and won its independence.

0:27:340:27:38

When I was in politics,

0:27:380:27:39

the idea that Queen Elizabeth II might make an official visit

0:27:390:27:43

to the Republic of Ireland would have seemed like fantasy.

0:27:430:27:46

But the beauty of time passing

0:27:480:27:50

is that it makes the impossible possible.

0:27:500:27:52

On my next journey, I'll learn the ancient art of butter making.

0:27:560:28:00

It's exquisite, Eamonn. It's a taste of the Irish rain.

0:28:010:28:04

Thank you very, very, very much.

0:28:040:28:06

I'll tackle the basics of Ireland's oldest game.

0:28:070:28:10

So what's the first thing I should learn?

0:28:100:28:12

-It's to bounce it on my hurley?

-Yeah.

0:28:120:28:15

Oops!

0:28:150:28:16

And I'll ride the Duke of Devonshire's Victorian Irish Railway.

0:28:160:28:20

In case the Duke of Devonshire is watching,

0:28:200:28:23

I want to thank your ancestor, sir, for giving us this lovely railway.

0:28:230:28:27

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