August Regatta

It's only two weeks to go to this year's Regatta and the anticipation is building. This three day event marks the pinnacle of Summer activities here in Cobh and families from near and far travel to enjoy the festivities....and there is plenty of things going on and plenty of things to do and see!

Each day there is an extensive rowing and sailing programme. Its great to view the yachts, many in full spinnaker, as they tussle for front position in the various races. The rowing races are also great to watch and there is great excitement as the various teams come close to the finishing line.

It's not just the racing and the competitive side of the regatta that's appealing but there just is plenty of activities going on. On the Sunday there is a carnival atmosphere in the promenade, which is set aside for families and young kids. There is plenty of face-painting, bouncy castles, clowns, and stilt-walkers to keep everyone entertained. In the main square there is plenty of acts on the main stage to entertain the night time revellers. On the Friday night there is the picking of the Queens which is always very popular with all. This is followed normally by entertainment from some of Ireland's top bands, as is the case on Saturday and Sunday night.

The highlight for everyone, though, is the Fireworks display. This takes place on Sunday night at 10pm. Make sure you're in early to secure a good vantage point as the town is normally thronged to see this....and no wonder; its reckoned that this 1/2 hour display is the best fireworks display in the country!!!

If you're staying at the Commodore Hotel you have the best vantage point of all. Our roof garden offers spectacular views of the display and is most definitely the best spot to view the fireworks!!!

So why not come to Cobh and stay the weekend! We have a great package on offer: 3 nights bed & breakfast and one evening meal with prices starting from as little as €171 per person. To book now click here and scroll down to 'Regatta Package.' Hope to see you there!

Frolicking seals....

With the main channel passing less than 100 metres in front of the hotel its amazing what you might see on a daily basis. Certainly, from a wildlife point of view you'd be quite surprised what you'd spot from time to time. It might be common dolphins, bottle-nosed dolphins, killer whales, or other large marine mammals. Well yesterday it was seals. Two seals kept onlookers amused as they frolicked in the water just off the promenade. The anglers on Kennedy Pier weren't amused, however, as the wiley seals managed to rob the mackeral off the hooks as the fisherman hauled them in. Oh oh! You can't keep everyone happy!!!

Trad Night in O'Shea's Bar....

Now playing their third season at the Commodore Hotel, 'Something Simple' have built up quite a following. This talented trio from Rathcormac play traditional Irish music every Wednesday night in O' Shea's Bar over the Summer and Autumn months.

Why not pop down next Wednesday for a look...but beware the hairy crubeens...they're addictive!

New liner 'Marina' docks in Cobh....

Brand new liner 'Marina' docked in Cobh yesterday. It was a pity that the weather wasn't as good as recent days but at least it was still warm. That didn't dampen the spirits of its 1200 passengers, many of whom took some time to wander around the town, combining a bit of shopping with sight-seeing.

For a list of liners still to visit have a look here

We're also doing competitively priced liner packages if you want to visit Cobh while these liners are in port. Have a look here and look for CRUISE LINER SPECIAL

WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT

WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT:

Friday 29th: Music in O'Sheas Bar with Craig O'Neill

Doyle: Save the Regatta Concert 8.30pm - Tickets on Sale at Reception

Saturday 30th: Music in O'Sheas Bar with John O'Connor & Music in Lounge

Sunday 31st: Music in O'Sheas Bar with Darren Andrews & Music in Lounge with Karl Long

DISCO IN CLUB C FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY

Summer comes back with a bang...

Wow, what a day Tuesday was! With blue skies, calm winds, and the mercury rising to 26C, you'd be forgiven for thinking that we have a touch of Spanish weather. With weather like this there is no finer place in the World than Cobh, especially if you get a chance to get out on the water, which were lucky to do, as you can see from the snaps we took.

The Crown Princess was docked at the deep water quay. You could see many of its 3000 passengers enjoying the sun on her upper decks and around the pool. Many others took the opportunity to wander around Cobh. They'd have been forgiven for mistakenly believing they were in the Mediterranean!

The Crown Princess is here again on the 18th August and here's fingers crossed that the weather will be just as good!

In August alone there will be another 11 Ocean going cruise liners visiting. Have a look here for

the full list.

We are doing special accommodation rates if you'd like to visit and see these magnificent ships. To book click here.

BARRACK HILL BALL RUN

A unique charity event. Watch thousands of coloured balls roll down West View, formerly known as Barrack Hill or locally known as the Deck of Cards. Barrack Hill Ball run takes place Monday 1st August at 3.30pm. Great Family Event with entertainment before and after the main event. A SMALL NUMBER OF FAMILY ROOMS STILL AVAILABLE FOR MONDAY NIGHT AT THE COMMODORE HOTEL, COBH. SPECIAL FAMILY RATES E100 for 2A+2C or E108 for 2A+3c BED & BREAKFAST. DON'T DELAY BOOK TODAY www.commodorehotel.ie or Tel: 021 4811277.

Australia Day in Cobh

What a great day! Last Sunday was Australia Day in Cobh. The Dawn Princess arrived early in the morning with a load of 'Aussies.' This was their 60th day at sea as part of a 104 day World cruise that began in Sydney, Australia on 25th May 2011. Well actually there were a few Kiwi's amongst them; 400 to be exact but they were outnumbered by the Aussies who had 1500 in number.

Well they couldn't have got a better welcome, the Cobhites threw a party 'Cobh' style and there was a real carnival atmosphere around the town all day. The Aussies' seemed to have enjoyed it. Here are three different accounts of the day from passengers aboard the cruise liner:

World Explorers 2011

Hot off the Memory Card

ausjackaroo

Even the Australian ambassador got into the swing of things. He was earlier at a civic reception in his honour at the Town Hall, and took tours of Spike Island and the Titanic Trail.

Cobh Confraternity Band gave the Dawn Princess a good send off; click here to have a look.

....and here's a video of the liner leaving Cobh click here.

For Cruise Liner Schedule for the remainder of the year click here.

If you would like to visit Cobh to see one of these liners, then we can offer competitive overnight rates. Have a look at our special offers here.

SUMMER SIZZLER

SUMMER SIZZLERS THIS JULY & AUGUST AT THE COMMODORE HOTEL, COBH. Enjoy the Sunshine this Summer in the harbour town of Cobh.
2 Nights Bed and Breakfast + 1 Dinner from E124.00
3 Nights Bed and Breakfast + 1 Dinner from E153.00
REGATTA WEEKEND 12th, 13th & 14th August
2 B/B+1D from E138pps 3B/B+1D from E171pps
Free Street Entertainment and Fireworks Sun Night!
CLICK HERE TO BOOK http://www.avvio.com/hotels/Commodore_Hotel/bookings/index.php?formname=searchspecials&mode=group&group=Special%20Offers#ipulsestart

WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT AT THE COMMODORE HOTEL, COBH.

Friday 22nd: Sean O'Connor in O'Sheas Bar
Saturday 23rd: Only Me in O'Sheas Bar and Barry Ahern in Lounge
Sunday 24th: Australia Day in Cobh - Cobh Welcomes the Dawn Princess Liner from Australia - Trad. Night in O'Sheas Bar with the Moroney Family.
Disco in Club C - Fri/Sat/Sun

Brass bands on the Promenade bandstand...

For the second time this year a visiting brass band played in the Promenade bandstand. What a great sound!

The Dawson Creek Kiwanis Community Band from Canada belted out the tunes on a sun scorched day during the week. With the fabulous weather a captive audience soon built up and were well entertained. This is exactly what the bandstand was made for and its great to see.

Being right on our doorstep a few of us from the hotel had to pop over and have a look.

On another note, lets hope this current spell of weather will hold out; it certainly puts everyone in good spirits!

(Photos: courtesy of Cobh Tourism).

Jimmy Crowley & Ben Hurley in concert...

What a great concert!!! Last Saturday night, as part of the 'See you in Cobh' fundraising concerts, legendary balladier, Jimmy Crowley, performed with local musician, Ben Hurley in front of a packed audience in the Jack Doyle Room.

This was the latest installment in a series of concerts which has seen some great local artists perform over the last 12 months or so. Its great to see local talent being so appreciated by local audiences. Jimmy Crowley is almost 'local' himself as he now lives in the town and plays on a regular basis in O' Sheas Bar and in the Jack Doyle Room.

In the footsteps of a queen....

What a historic month May was! Queen Elizabeth II made her first official visit to Ireland. Although, security was very tight over the first few days, you could certainly see that, by the time the Queen visited Cork on the last day of the tour, she was very relaxed and enjoying herself. The pic over is a classic and says it all. Here the Queen was visiting the English Market, and this pic shows her at the famous Kaye O' Connell fish stand. Pat O' Connell is a bit of a character and would bring a smile to anyone's face and quite obviously the Queen was enjoying the banter!

Queen Elizabeth's tour of Cork almost replicated the tour taken by Queen Victoria in the late 1840's. However, on that occasion Queen Victoria concentrated her visit to the lower harbour and the Cobh area. Cobh was of particular interest due to the port's significance to the British realm. 'Victoria herself arrived in 1849 to the booming of cannon on her first visit to Ireland and the town was for many years known as "Queenstown" to commemorate the occasion. She was so delighted by Cobh and the surrounding coast that she got our her watercolours (The Sunday Telegraph, May 18, 2003).'

The Commodore Hotel's connection to the royal visit is very direct as the following extract from the Commercial Queenstown 1894 attests to '...On the memorable visit of Her Majestey and the Prince Consort in the year 1849 the ground upon which the Hotel is built there was erected a pavilion for their entertainment, and on this spot the name of the town was changed from the Cove of Cork to Queenstown by Her Majesty the Queen.'

Following the Queen's visit a grandiose project was undertaken by Lord Midleton, the local Viscount, to develop the town as a Victorian spa retreat, the first tourist attraction of the day, if you will. This involved the reclamation of substantial tracts of land, the development of railway facilities, the development of a promenade, terraces, hotel, and baths. Lord Midleton commissioned the eminent architect of the day, Decimus Burton, to design the project. Burton's more prominent work included projects on Buckingham Palace, aswell as buildings and gardens of the Zoological Society in Regent's Park, London. The hotel was to be the centrepiece of the project.

The hotel was completed in 1854 and became one of the first purpose built hotels in the country. 'From its establishment, the Queens Hotel was exactly what its title suggests, a hotel for Royalty. Among its guests were King Edward VII, Queen Alexandria and King George VI. By the mid 1850's, Cobh had indeed become very popular as a health resort. It was ideally suited for this purpose being only a short coach ride from Cork and possessing a remarkable temperate climate. It was also of course the port of embarkation of her Majesty's troops (most notably during the Boer War) and the residence of the Admiral. The growing importance of trans-Atlantic Liner trade from Liverpool seemed to make it inevitable that Cobh would become a major Port of Call (Cobh Annual 1978).'

Why not stay at the Commodore Hotel and retrace the steps of Queen Elizabeth. Take a short train ride through the scenic vistas of Cork Harbour to Cork, a journey of less than 25 minutes. In Cork visit the English market, the site of Queen Elizabeth's visit to the city. This market is definitely one of Cork's most intriguing attractions. In the words of Rick Stein '...in my opinion, this is the best covered market in the UK and Ireland.' http://www.englishmarket.ie/

The Commodore is now offering a three day historical and cultural package that includes a visit to the Queenstown story (http://www.cobhheritage.com/index2.html), a guided walk of the Titanic Trail (http://www.titanic-trail.com/), and a guided tour of Spike Island (http://www.spikeislandcork.com/index.html). This package also includes an evening meal in one of the localities top restaurants, Tradewinds Restaurant, as well as an evening meal in the hotel's own restaurant, the State's Restaurant. This three night accommodation package is great value at €233 per person sharing (or stg£205) and is available upto 31st August 2011. To book click here http://www.avvio.com/hotels/Commodore_Hotel/bookings/client.php#ipulsestart or contact Mary on 00-353-21-4811277 (email: commodorehotel@eircom.net).

A further Autumn package is available at discounted rates from 1st Sept to 31st Oct 2011. This package includes a visit to the Queenstown story, a guided walk of the Titanic Trail, an evening meal at Tradewinds Restaurant and an evening meal at the States Restaurant. This three night package is great value at €181 per person sharing (or stg£159). To book click here http://www.avvio.com/hotels/Commodore_Hotel/bookings/client.php#ipulsestart or contact Mary on 00-353-21-4811277. (email: commodorehotel@eircom.net).

Highlight of the Liner season so far.....

Back at the start of the summer, the May weekend to be precise, we were treated to a unique event. Both the Celebrity Eclipse and the Independence of the Seas were in port, at the same time! Never before have two giant ocean going liners been in Cork Harbour together. One was leaving port while the other was docking.

Speculation was rife leading upto the day. Where would they pass? Would it be at the mouth of the Harbour? Would it be in the main channel opposite the Oil Refinery? What a surprise to the thousands of onlookers when the Independence of the Seas arrived, sailed up the channel, and the Celebrity Eclipse was still tied up at the Deep Water Quay. What's going on? Was the Independence too early? Was the Eclipse late?

What a surprise to everyone when the Independence passed the Eclipse, swivelled in mid channel, and as she did the Eclipse gently slipped he moorings, slipped out allowing the Independence to gently glide into her space. What a manoeuvre? What a sight? Wow!!!

Has summer returned?

Has the summer weather returned? Well it certainly has improved; yesterday and today were quite warm and the forecast for the week is good. Its about time as we really haven't had a run of good weather since April when the weather was fabulous!

Above is a pic of the 'Athena' which docked back in April when that weather was glorious. You can see from the pic that it was positively Mediterranean. Fingers crossed, that summer might be back!

2011 Liner season kicks off.....

The 2011 Liner season got under way with the arrival of Cunard's Queen Victoria. The ship docked at the nearby Deep Water Quay on the 11th April and the passengers were greeted by unseasonally warm weather.

The Queen Victoria is the first of over 50 liners to berth at Cobh this year. A full list of visiting liners can be found at the Port of Cork website at http://www.portofcork.ie/index.cfm/page/cruiseschedule2010.