We loved this place a little too much. I thought this would be a short visit, but we ended up…read morespending the entire day there. This place is highly recommended while in Cork. If you are of Irish descent, you will love this place. If you are interesting in the history of Irish emigrants, like me, you will even love it. They also have a very extensive and informative Titanic exhibit. Simply wow!!!

Housed in the former Victorian Railway Stations main hall, (a single line to Cork still adjoins the…read moremain building). The heritage centre, complete with it's own genealogy centre, tells the story of the estimated 2.5 million people that left these shores from this very spot forever. Although this itself is roughly a third of the number that left all Ireland in a century of emigration that really began with the 1846 famine, Cobh was to be the single most important port of departure. Cobh is literally pronounced cove, and is indeed the cove of nearby Cork, although it was named Queenstown from 1849, until the time when it's original name was revived in 1922. The Queenstown story is very well presented, I liked the recreation of life on board a ship from steerage bunks to upper decks, and clearly an awful lot of thought & imagination has gone into creating an environment that will appeal to everyone from easily distracted children through to American tourists, although some might say there is no disparity between the two! For transatlantic liners, departing English ports like Liverpool or Southampton, Cobh was always the last port of call before heading west. Many familiar large ships would have anchored just a couple of miles offshore, with smaller tender vessels ferrying passengers to & from the quayside here. The most famous of all of them of course was RMS Titanic. At 1.30pm on Thursday 11th April 1912 Titanic sailed after a 2 hour visit to take on just 123 passengers to bring her total complement up to 2206, 1517 of which were to drown with the ship 3 days later. There is a famous photograph taken by a Father Frank Browne, one of 7 passengers to have disembarked from the ship here, that frames this small exhibition, the last image of a legendary ship. However I was left wanting more here than the exhibition could ever provide. The museum is much better about another ill fated 4-funneled liner, RMS Lusitania. The Lucy as she was nick-named was torpedoed in 1915, just up the coast from here of Kinsale, with a loss of life almost on the same scale, (a small number of the victims were buried in the nearby cemetery). One of my favourite exhibits was the old phone kiosk of the period, where by picking up the receiver you can listen to tape recordings of both witnesses to the tragedy & survivors. Also because there are personal belongings on show recovered from the wreck, these prove to be a more persuasive reminder of human tragedy than the Titanic exhibit with only it's words & photos. If you're interested in the Lusitania, seek out my review of nearby Kinsale Tourist Office as well. Overall this is a very impressive experience, particularly thought provoking on the 19th century mass exodus from Ireland. It will easily absorb you for an hour or two's visit, if not there's an extremely well stocked gift shop & coffee & snack bar! However it's only when you're outside, gazing out beyond the statue of Ellis Island Annie & her brothers, far out to sea, & recall those millions whose last sight of their homeland this was, that you begin to get a true sense of perspective on the place.

You can get insight into what it looked and felt like setting off for the New World. The advertised…read morejobs and other opportunities that promised everything. If you would just get the ticket and get yourself on the boat. My wife and I were here, at the start of a trans-Atlantic cruise with absolutely none of the hazards. She said, "why again are we watching shipwreck and sinking stories when we're about to get on?" Lovely staff are on duty in the aBUNdant gift shop, and serving fresh toasties & coffee in the center of the permanent free exhibits.

We were thrilled with our experience. We learned so much about Ireland from the plentiful,…read moreprofessional, and educational exhibits. We even enjoyed the gift shop which had very nice products. On our visit in February 2023 we learned about emigration, famine, the Titanic, and more. It was all informative and well done. In fact, the Titanic displays were so well done that we skipped the Titanic Experience up the street farther. Both of us highly recommend a visit to this wonderful spot. Oh, the have a nice looking café, too, but we didn't try the food.

The Waterford Museum of Treasures now consists of five different museums: Medieval Museum, Bishop's…read morePalace, Reginald's Tower, and Irish Museum of Time and the Irish Silver Museum. At the time of my visit, I ended up on a guided walking tour of the Viking Triangle and a guided tour of the Medieval Museum and Bishop's Palace with free time to revisit the museums as well as the other museums. Highlights: + Price - Budget friendly at €15.00 + The museums are relatively close together. The Reginald's Tower is a max 5 minutes walk down the street if you are casually strolling. + The Medieval Museum you can easily spend 30 - 45 minutes going through the multiple levels of the museum. The highlights were the lower level that were two medieval chambers, the 13th century Choristers' Hall and the 15th century Mayor's Wine Vault. The top level offers a look at different models depicting how Waterford looked during key years. There is also a display of Waterford's charter depicted on multiple parchment scrolls. +Bishop's Palace offers looking at the collect of goods from Georgian and Victorian Waterford including paintings, Waterford crystal, a pair of gorgeous dragon mirrors, Napoleon Mourning Cross that came via his niece whou ended up being married to Thomas Wyse. +There is a cafe in Bishop's Palace that offers a bit of inside seating, as well as outside seating thanks to picnic tables on nicer days. Tips: * Make sure to walk around Reginald's Tower for a few photo ops, as well as a replica ship. * Right behind the Medieval Museum, make sure to stop and view the Dragonslayer Viking Sword by John Hayes and James Doyle of Special Branch Carvings * Reginald's Tower at the time of visit, as well as looking at the website, can be visited for free.

Really nice tour explaining the history of Waterford. Great examples of crystal, china, silver,…read morefurniture and other artifacts. Knowledgeable guides.

My grandson really wanted to see the Butter Museum. He may have been hoping for a tasting but…read moresadly they don't offer that. The tour is self-directed but starts with a video. Having been buying Irish butter in the US because I like the taste, it was interesting to see what is different like milk coming from grass-fed cows and higher fat content making it spread easier. There are a lot of displays around the building. The big butter was interesting to see which demonstrates an older practice of burying butter in a bog to preserve it. The large one they have is thought to be about 1000 years old. I found it interesting that Cork's history included being a butter exchange with a worldwide trade in butter. Information includes the culture and history of dairying the various tools used to make butter, a collection of butter wrappings and more. Overall interesting and educational but a tasting would really be a great addition

Really enjoyed my time at the Cork Butter Museum. We made it in time for the butter making…read moredemonstration and tasting which really enhanced the experience. Very happy with my decision to check this place out. 10/10 would come again.

Extraordinary. Displays are tastefully done and well maintained. Very educational. The attendants…read moreare well informed and very pleasant. Seeing the Lagan family represented in such an esteemed way was awesome. Very proud of my husbands Irish family and knowing that they have left such an indelible mark on not only Ireland but the wine industry worldwide. Thank you Desmond Castle for a very memorable visit.

The old and small castle in the middle of Kinsale. It also served as a prison for the privateers…read moreand soldiers/sailors captured nearby. The building is worth a 10-minute walk around if you are interested in the subject. There is also a "wine museum", although the displays are a bit tired.

This usually isn't my kind of thing, but it was part of our vacation package and I'm SO GLAD we did…read moreit! This was an amazing way to learn about Cobh its history and the Titanic. Our guide was local, friendly and knowledgeable. A great way to explore the town. I know it was a guided tour, but it felt like we were being shown around by a friend. DONT question, just book!

An enjoyable stop. Got to see the John F Kennedy Park, the dock where the Titanic passengers…read moreloaded, the White Star ticketing line, and a Titanic memorial. It was also a big Irish emigration port. What struck me the most was that our guide asked how many of us in our group had Irish ancestry. A good 75% of us raised our hands. She said, "Now, if you're one of the 35 million in the U.S. that claim Irish ancestry, you're family set sail for America with nothing more than courage and a dream". A wow moment right there. However, our guide was a little hard to hear, so we missed out on some useful facts. It also would've been nice to have spent a little more time at the Heritage Center during our tour (it's helpful to make a reservation if you want a more in-depth look at your genealogy)

CORK PUBLIC MUSEUM The Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald Park…read moreis well and truly up and running again after last winter's flood damage. Called there today to see the Traveller Visibility Group Exhibition which was due to open at 10.00am (according to the Cork City Event Guide for National Heritage Week) and that meant a waste of some time as the Museum doesn't open until 11.00am. Bet you wish you could get a job like that! And you do need time here as, between the permanent displays and the temporary shows, there is so much to see. You can see displays on the city's sports heroes, Roy Keane and Christy Ring among them, on the role of the corporation, the various wars (including the Emergency), the Fashions, Cork Silver and Glass, the International Exhibition of 1902, the last tube made in Dunlop's along with a run through of the area from pre-history right up to the present, replicas of the Cross of Cong and the Cross of Cloyne along with some medieval artefacts and also some ancient stones with ogham script. Here too you'll learn that a meat market was once called a "Shambles" and much much more, including the story of the Aloys Fleischmann family, told through photos and mementoes. The display I came to see, The Traveller Visibility Group Exhibition, was upstairs. Highlights include the Barrel Top Wagon and the Black and White Phony (his hide made up of hundreds of black and white photos of travellers) and the Copper Craft project by the Ennis Travellers. Putting all this together was a learning experience for the travellers, viewing it was a learning experience for me. Dachau is mentioned downstairs in the Fleischmann exhibition and, upstairs, you may see a collection of paintings from the Dachau Art Gallery permanent collection. During the 19th century, artists were drawn to Dachau by the beautiful moorland scenery. Many settled in the town, and it soon became an artists' colony. Captivated by the subtle nuances of colour and light of the Dachau countryside, they took their canvases out into the open - ushering in the era of painting en plein air. Taking painting outdoors meant a shift from the darker canvasses to much lighter and this is easily seen here, in the Schleißheimer Canal by Toni Binder (1868-1944) for example. Really interesting show and there is a decent leaflet on hand to guide you through. Just be sure and leave it there afterwards for the rest of us! I must admit I spent just well over an hour here and that was nowhere near enough. I'll have to go back. Tel+ 353 21 4270679 http://www.corkcity.ie/ourservices/recreationamenityculture/museum/

Cork Public Museum open its doors in 1945 by the administration of University College Cork and was…read moreaided grant by the Cork county council. The Cork Public Museum is in Fitzgerald Park on the Mardyke. In the Museum you will get to see collections of the economic, social and municipal history of the city. It was nice to see the very fine collections of Cork silver, Cork Glass and Youghal needlepoint Lace. I think its a very educational Museum to go too, you learn alot about the public history.

If you've just wandered off the train from Cork or have disembarked from a massive cruise ship at…read morethe little dock, you may enjoy a walk up to the high street and a visit to the Cobh Museum. It's up the stone steps just across the street from the train station. I serve on a Museum Board of Directors, and my wife is the director of a small-town museum so I am both interested in and critical of small museums. The Cobh Museum is doing a lot of things right-- they have several climate-controlled exhibit cases, they have a number of rare and interesting documents on display, and their re-use of the Scots Church is good for the old edifice. New, adaptive uses of old buildings often saves them from the wrecking ball. However, there are some other things to consider; it is somewhat expensive to walk into this old church/museum (10 Euro for a family), and most of the exhibit material relates to the loss of the Lusitania (torpedoed by a German U-Boat on 7 May 1915). So if you are kind of tired of shipwrecks and shipping disasters, you may not truly enjoy this museum. The architecture of the old church is handsome, the staff is knowledgeable and helpful, and many bits and pieces of quite a few exhibits are interesting. But the overall presentation is one of local history and local shipwrecks.

Absolutely worth a visit by anyone wanting to know more about the Great Famine (or Great Hunger as…read morelocals know it as). Much research has been put into this place and it shows. If you don't "do" museums - then there is a self guided walking tour around the whole town with signs noting the information about each location. Grab a map from the museum and put your walking shoes on!

This is my third visit to the Skibbereen Heritage Center since 2014, and each time I have come away…read moredeeply moved, better educated, and with a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of the Great Hunger on the late 1840s.