After the Queen, comes her sister ship
The €500 million MV Queen Elizabeth made her maiden call to Cobh, Co Cork, on Saturday morning, arriving at 9am, bringing with her over 3,000 passengers and 90,900 gross tonnage.
To coincide with the trip, the Port of Cork, together with Cunard, held a Lusitania memorial service in the centre of Cobh.
The skipper of the Queen Elizabeth led the ship’s officers at the memorial, along with dignitaries from Cobh Town Council, the Naval Service and the Port of Cork.
Captain Michael McCarthy of the Port of Cork said the sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, was a human catastrophe on a scale that Cobh had not experienced before or since.
“The People in Queenstown, Cobh, witnessed the trauma, tragedy and heartbreak that ensued. The dead, the injured and the bereaved were brought among a community here that mobilised itself and responded with courage and compassion to their needs.”
Mr McCarthy said it was fitting that Captain Christopher Wells of Cunard’s vessel MV Elizabeth was present to reflect on the tragedy.
In October 2008, Cunard announced the building of the MV Elizabeth and two years later, the naming ceremony was carried out in Southampton by the Queen.
The vessel departed on her maiden voyage under the command of Captain Chris Wells on October 12, 2010.
Since the early 1990s the Port of Cork has been welcoming cruise liners and today an average of 54 liners call each year, bringing over 100,000 passengers.
Meanwhile, Cork also celebrated its annual Harbour open day on Saturday. The second largest natural harbour in the world played host to the Cobh to Blackrock sailing race, kayaking and crab fishing.
A free open day was held at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy and Fastnet Lines MV Julia opened to the public.
This year also saw the first free ferry shuttle service operated by Whale of a Time running in the lower harbour, calling at Ringaskiddy, Monkstown, Cobh, Aghada and Crosshaven.
The Irish Coastguard, RNLI and the search and rescue helicopter performed a demonstration in the lower harbour near Monkstown and Ringaskiddy, while Spike Island was open to the public all day.
Events were also held in Crosshaven and in Cork city, where the Irish naval vessel LE Ciara was open to the public for free tours.
The Cork Harbour Open Day aims to raise awareness of the different activities available for people in the harbour both on and off the water.
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