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Jewel of the Seas — Making Port in Cobh, Ireland


Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas in Cobh, Ireland

After a brief break to honor Memorial Day and commemorate the 79th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, today we’re back on articles involving the first of three back-to-back cruises aboard Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas. You may recall that these voyages took place from late May through the end of June 2022. Before my aforementioned break in this series, I showed you our earlier stops in Iceland and Belfast. Our visit to Jewel’s next destination took place two days after departing Belfast. So, today I begin the first of three weeks of articles on the quaint Irish port city of Cobh. But before we leave the Jewel, here is a view of the Jewel‘s atrium:

Jewel of the Seas atrium

Now that we’ve given some love to this magnificent ship, let’s head out onto the deck for our first views of Cobh (formerly Queenstown until it was renamed in 1920 during the Irish War for Independence). Even if you don’t leave the ship, you’ll still find much to zoom in on and photograph, such as the Cobh Museum, the repurposed Presbyterian Scots Church on High Road directly across from the cruise terminal and train station.

Cobh Museum — formerly Scots Church (1854-1965)

You might recall that I’ve shown you Cobh before, but only briefly as we were on tour that day. On this visit we spent the entire day here, which is why you’ll see much more of it this time around. Cobh’s most infamous claims to fame are probably that it was the last port of call for the RMS Titanic, and that survivors and recovered dead from RMS Lusitania were brought here. One hundred ninety-three Lusitania victims are interred at Old Church Cemetery about a mile to the north. At any rate, it’s Titanic that gets the most attention here, as evidence from this work alongside the port:

Titanic 100th Anniversary 1912-2012

Three quick views of Cobh as seen from the Jewel before we head out on foot:

St. Colman’s Cathedral (left)
Westborne Pl. (lower left) and West Beach (center to right side)

Now here’s a fun one. See the old columned structure on the left below? That’s the Old Methodist Church, which at one point became a pub. I believe it’s for sale, if you’re interested in a fixer upper.

Old Methodist Church (left) and colorful buildings along Westbourne and West Beach

Now we exit Jewel. Cobh was the jumping off point for many Irish immigrants to the United States. Below is a statue dedicated to Annie Moore, who immigrated at age 17 along with her two younger brothers Anthony and Philip. Annie Moore has the distinction of being the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island, New York City.

Annie (age 17), Anthony (15), and Philip (12) Moore in 1892

At the port you’ll find easy access to the train station, which also houses the Cobh Heritage Centre (more on that later in this series):

Cobh Train Station
Cobh Heritage Centre

On Wednesday we’ll continue this series with our walk into town.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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D-Day — Omaha


All this week I’ll be rerunning my series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Iceland/Ireland trip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 79th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

Omaha Beach

On D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944, Omaha Beach was bleak. U.S. V Corps under the direct command of Major General Leonard Gerow would sustain the most casualties by far of any of the five invasion beaches. Between 2,000 and 4,700 U.S. servicemen would lose their lives on the bloody sands of Omaha.

Omaha Beach

Had U.S. forces failed in taking Omaha, the entire invasion would have been a disaster, as Utah would have been completely cut off from Sword, Juno, and Gold. Fortunately, after a long and brutal battle with Army forces caught between the shoreline and the bluffs overlooking the beach, elements of V Corps led heroically by on-site Brigadier General Norman Cota (played by Robert Mitchum in the superlative film The Longest Day) were able to break through stiff German resistance and rush inland.

Killing bluff overlooking Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach

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D-Day — Utah


All this week I’ll be rerunning my series on the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France. Next week I’ll return you to our Iceland/Irelandtrip and beyond. In the meantime, in commemoration of the 79th anniversary of Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings) and Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy) in the event we now collectively refer to as D-Day:

Utah Beach

The beach assaults on D-Day occurred at five locations. Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches lay to the east. The English took Gold and Sword. Canada led the way at Juno. The U.S. Army assaulted the two beaches to the west, Omaha and Utah, with Utah being the western-most invasion site.

M4 Sherman Tank

Leading the assault of Utah Beach was the son of a president, General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. General Roosevelt hid from his superiors a heart condition that would lead to his death just a little over five weeks after the invasion.

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

The assault forces at Utah met with surprisingly light resistance. There were 197 casualties out of the 21,000 men who landed there.

Utah Beach Navy Memorial

Those who landed on the beach just to their east were not nearly as fortunate. Next up in this series is the assault on Omaha. Until then, here are a more photos of Utah:

Utah Beach

Utah Beach

Utah Beach Memorial

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