The Confluence

Yesterday, my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather held my hand as I walked around the Cobh (pronounced Cove) Heritage Center. The Heritage Center in Cobh (the town has known many names, Cove – until 1847, Queenstown –from 1847 -1920 then the Irish name for Cove – Cobh since 1920) is housed in the same building that was the Port of Call for emigrants leaving Ireland since the early 1800’s. This port became the Famine Irishman’s escape to America. But Cobh remained an important departure point for Irishmen through 1950. In fact, between 1848-1950 2.5 million of the 6 million who emigrated from Ireland left from Cobh. My two Great Grandparents left Ireland from Cobh around the late 1890’s. They traveled separately, and met each other in Albany, NY. As we were driving in to Cobh, I couldn’t help but wonder…did my Great Grandparents see the same ancient wall that I was looking at? Did they see the same trees, some of the same buildings? Upon getting out of the car, and looking over the water landscape, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that they too had seen the same seascape. When I walked through the Heritage doors and down the hall, I smiled, thinking, they too walked through these doors and down these halls. Did the thought ever cross their minds that generations later, someone from their family, from the United States, would be walking in their footsteps? What hopes and fears did they harbor upon entering Cobh and seeing the massive Ocean Liners?

I know that my Great Grandmother, Anna Foley, traveled alone. She was around 14 or 15 when she left Ireland. Was she scared, or was she so determined to change her lifestyle, like my grandmother always said, that fear never crossed her mind? My Great Grandfather, John Farry, traveled with his brother. I believe he was around 19. Did they go to the United States seeking adventure? Emigration during the Great Famine was usually a last resort. And most emigrants went to Canada or Australia. Their landlords sent some to Canada because they couldn’t pay the rent, and yet their landlords sent some to Canada, because they (the landlords) knew the majority of the people wouldn’t survive the trip. We learned from Terri, the curator of the Skibbereen Heritage Center, that some Famine Irishmen would intentionally commit crimes, so that they would be sent to Australia, a common punishment for criminals of the time. The food on the ships was better than the food in the workhouses. However, as in the case of my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather, many emigrants following the Great Famine, made the choice to emigrate.

Yesterday, we learned that those that chose to emigrate did so for the following reasons: brighter future elsewhere, lure of a better life, land, encouragement from former immigrants and hopes for riches and success. Anna left Ireland because her sister was already in New York and she was looking to elevate herself above the farm life she was leaving. John too left for a brighter future and better life. Though I don’t know if they left Ireland in the hopes of striking it rich, they found each other in New York, and successfully raised a family.

Yesterday I met my Great Grandparents at the confluence of the past and present at the Cobh Heritage Center and we spent the afternoon together in each other’s company.

Note: As in the Skibbereen Heritage Center, we were asked not to post pictures from inside the Cobh Heritage Center Museum on the web. The pictures we did take can be used for the classroom. Pictures posted are those outside the museum.

Noel