A visit to Cobh

A recent visit to Cobh, Co. Cork found me, early one Sunday morning, tramping the dew sodden grass of the Old Church cemetery, located just outside the town,. I was there to visit the graves of the victims of the sinking of the liner Lusitania. Buried in the cemetery are the remains of 193 victims of the sinking. Until recently I was unaware of any Kildare connections with the disaster, but in the County Kildare Online Electronic History Journal which is maintained by the Kildare County Library and Art Service I came across a news report from the Leinster Leader of 17th May 1952 which recounted the memories of Thomas McCormack of Killina, Robertstown who was on the Lusitania on that fateful day of 7th May 1915 when the liner was torpedoed by a German Submarine. McCormack, originally a boatman on the Grand Canal, was returning to Ireland after three years in the USA. His vivid recollections recall the moment of impact of the torpedo on the ship when he was standing on it’s portside. He recalled being knocked off his feet by a surge of people when the deck started to rise and lying prone on deck while he watched a boat of women and children being lowered over the side. Unable to make it to a lifeboat he made his way to the ship stern and could not recall whether he jumped or fell off the stern but found himself in the water. Observing the last moments of the ship he noted as the Liner went down she created in her wake a ‘tunnel’. He went on to say ‘It was like a tunnel of green glass, going down into the depths of the ocean. Around it’s sides I could see bodies and wreckage, all whirling about and going deeper into that horrible void. Then the boilers exploded and a column of water shot high in the air.’ One of his enduring memories of the disaster was of a group of men singing hymns in a language he didn’t recognise, while holding hands as they floated in the sea. Another survivor from Kildare was a priest, Fr. Kennedy, who later became a Jesuit Missionary in China. I was very taken with how well the cemetery has been maintained by the local community, and particularly the very informative sign board at the entrance to the cemetery. While reading I was surprised to note another Kildare connection in that the Rev. Charles Wolfe, the author and poet, is also buried there. I found his grave just within the confines of the remains of the 17th century church on the site. Born in Blackhall, Co. Kildare he is now best remembered as the author of the 19th century classic poem ‘The Burial of Sir John Moore’. He was a rector with the Church of Ireland and was based in Donaghmore, County Tyrone until 1820 when for health reasons moved to the south of France. He later returned to Ireland, moving to Cobh where he died at the age of 31 in 1823 from consumption, a disease we now know as tuberculosis, a common cause of death at the time. As I walked around the cemetery another unusual connection jumped out at me. I came across the grave of the Antarctic explorer Robert Forde. A native of Bandon, Co. Cork he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 in 1891 and rose to the rank of Petty Officer first class. In 1910 he joined Captain Scott’s second expedition to the Antarctic from 1910 to 1913, serving with fellow Irishmen Tom Crean of Annascaul, Co. Kerry and his Cork compatriot Patrick Keohane. After returning from the Antarctic he served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, eventually returning to Cobh in 1920. On the 50th anniversary of his death in March 2009 a fine memorial was unveiled to him on the promenade in Cobh facing out to Cork Harbour with a bronze plaque showing him in his polar garb. One final grave which drew my attention was that of Jack Doyle, the boxer, actor and singer known as ‘the gorgeous gael’. His star shone brightly but briefly in the thirties, particularly in America where he made a number of films, but sadly he descended into alcoholism and at his death in 1978 in London he was effectively a pauper. However, he was never forgotten by the natives of Cobh who with the assistance of the Cork Ex-Boxers Association brought his remains back to Ireland and they rest again in the old church cemetery in Cobh in a graveyard replete with history.