Port investment boosts region

A €3.6m investment in Cobh by the Port of Cork Company has paid huge dividends for the region, according to The Evening Echo.

The investment, improving docking facilities in the town, enables some of the biggest liners in the world to dock in Cobh.

The work completed this year is expected to lead to a multi-million euro boom for Cork city and county in the coming years.

Already liner traffic coming into Cobh is worth €28m a year to the economy and this is expected to increase in the coming years.

This year Cobh will host 32 cruise ships and over 30,000 cruise passengers.

Dermot O’Mahoney, chairman of the Port of Cork Company, praised the partnership approach which was the cornerstone of this success.

He praised the "many loyal customers and service providers" in the port for combining to make the dream of making Cobh the liner capital of Ireland.

He also praised the work of CorkCruise, a company set up by Cobh and Harbour Chamber of Commerce and chaired by Michael McCormack which welcomes the tourists to the region.

Yesterday a fleet of buses ferried passengers from the Norwegian Jewel to locations all over the county.

The Norwegian Cruise Line-owned vessel is capable of carrying 2,376 guests and has a crew of 1,154. It also includes 10 restaurants, 13 bars and lounges and two swimming pools.