THE QUEENSTOWN STORY

Situated in the town's old railway station, this museum tells the story of the millions of emigrants who left Cobh. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many ships left the harbour for Australia with prisoners on board (many of whom had been convicted of participating in the 1798 rebellion). Between 1845 and 1851, 1.5 million Irish emigrated to escape the famine, mainly to North America. The demand was so great that the boats used were not always in very good condition and the travellers did not always reach their destination. They were nicknamed " coffin ships". After the famine, emigration became a new way of life, especially for young, unmarried people without inheritance and without qualifications (both women and men) in search of a better life. In the second half of the 19th century, there was even voluntary emigration to Australia: faced with the lack of women in that country (the prisoners who had been sent there were mainly men), female emigration was encouraged.

The museum also presents the history of the Titanic and the Lusitania (reproduction of the hotel where the survivors of the Lusitania were welcomed).

The explanation of the name of the city is also detailed: Cove until 1849, the city took the name of Queenstown to commemorate the arrival of Queen Victoria in 1849 before taking back its initial name in its Irish form: Cobh.