Sunday, September 30, 2012

Satan the Raven....























We have all sorts of celebrities staying with us from time to time, but we'd have to admit that this one was a new one on us. Earlier in the month, on a break from filming the new Tv series The Vikings, Satan the Raven and his owner Shay Cullen chose the Commodore Hotel for a two day stopover.

Satan is a beautiful one year old raven and caused quite a stir in the town. People were literally queuing up to have their photographs taken with him....and you wouldn't blame them; Satan is a beautiful bird and up close you can really appreciate the deep blue colouration of his plummage. At a distance you'd mistakenly think he was black in colour, but if you'd dare to get close you soon realise your error.



Hopefully Satan will come visit again as he's certainly built up a fan base in Cobh now!!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Cobh Blues Festival 2012



Last weekend the Blues Music Festival was held in Cobh. This is the sixth year in succession that this free music festival has taken place and its gaining momentum each year. On Sunday night Catriona Fallon and her Band played O' Sheas Bar and they were brilliant!!! Catriona has a superb voice and belted out plenty of bluesy numbers, including a lot of Imelda May's hits. You can easily see why Catriona was the lead singer for Riverdance for so long.

Catriona also played in Ryans Bar, Kellys Bar and the Titanic over the weekend. They were also other talented musicians on show, including Yossi Vladimer from Israel, Gary Boss from the USA, Dr. Dec and the Side Effects, Cold Shot, The Modern Heirs, Rory Gallagher Tribute, & The Totallers.

On Sunday afternoon a free gig was held in the promenade and despite the autumnal chill in the air many families came along and enjoyed the musical offering.

Many dedicated blues fans made Cobh their destination for the weekend and wandered throughout the town, availing of the free gigs. The entertainment went down well with locals and ordinary music lovers aswell. Let's hope the organisers can build on this year's success and make next year's event better again!!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cobh to Blackrock.....

The weekend before last, the start of the Cobh to Blackrock yacht race provided visitors to Cobh with an awesome spectacle. The annual Cobh to Blackrock yacht race is held in mid-September every year. This is looked forward to eagerly and its a chance for yachts from all of the harbour clubs to come together and compete on a fun basis.

This year the race was held as part of the Cork Harbour open weekend and attracted an entry of over eighty.

A great feature of the race is that it attracts boats of all shapes and sizes and this year was no exception. As the competitors get ready for the oft abeam of the Promenade in Cobh and jockey for position there is always great excitement. Indeed, it provides for a great spectacle for many of the onlookers that gather for the start of this most historic race.

Crowds gather in the promenade and other vantage points to see the boats off. Some years this can provide a spectacular sight for if the wind is from the east many can be in full spinnaker at this point. What a sight!!!

This year this wasn't the case as the wind was from the north west quarter and all yachts had to tack their way up channel. However, this number of yachts always provides a spectacle no matter what wind conditions prevail.

Eddie English from SailCork provides a great insight into the origins of the race and its development over the years. Have a look at his blog on the subject as it makes for great reading!








Sunday, September 23, 2012

Cobh Tidy Towns scoops silver......

Cobh scooped the silver award in this year's Tidy Towns competition. This is one better than last year when Cobh picked up a bronze in the National competition. Well done to the Cobh Tidy Towns committee and their band of eager volunteers, and in particular, Hendrik Verwey and Jim O' Rourke. The work and dedication that has gone in to achieving this result has been exceptional....and not just this year; this work has been ongoing for many years now. The fruits of this labour are there for all to see. Cobh has been transformed over the last five years. Where once it may have been a litter blackspot Cobh is now a beautiful, colourful, clean and attractive town. This view has been endorsed by many of the regular visitors to the hotel who have witnessed this transformation over the last few years. In fact, many are amazed as to how beautiful the town now looks. This is not to say that it was not attractive in the first place but the changes have been very dramatic and evident. Well done to all!!!

Here are some of the view expressed by the adjudicators:

"Sell it as a prototype to every town in TidyTowns in the country. You have reinvented the wheel."

"The built environment of Cobh glistened in the summer sun. The buildings provided interest and stimulation to the many tourists wandering the streets and enthusing over the many delights. One is firstly impressed by the condition of the presentation of the buildings."

"The stone walls of Cobh are as integral to the built heritage of the town as the water to its maritime history. Your work in uncovering these walls deserves special credit and mention. The conservation of the walled heritage of Cobh justifies your existence."

Friday, September 14, 2012

Cork Harbour Open Weekend


The Cork Harbour Open Weekend is on this Saturday & Sunday and there are numerous free events on right across the harbour in Cobh, Spike, Crosshaven & Fort Meagher. A lot of these events will appeal to families with small kids, so if the small ones at home are looking for something to do bring them down to Cobh on any of the days over the weekend.

Cobh Tourism have organised a special Treasure Hunt for all the family to participate in. This is on from 9:30am till 5pm on Saturday and 11am till 5pm on Sunday. The treasure hunt and puzzle can be collected from the ticket desk at Cobh Heritage Centre.

From 11am there is a vintage car rally in the streets of Cobh. The annual Wolseley Car Club of Ireland will see around 50 cars visit Cobh. Many of the cars will be parked at Westbourne Place outside the Commodore Hotel. This rally attracts vintage cars, pre-war cars and post-war cars of all kinds and should be a great sight!

In the afternoon, spectators will get the chance to watch the annual Cobh to Blackrock sailing race. This is a hugely popular race and nearly ever yacht in the harbour participates. Its a fabulous sight to witness and one of the best vantage points is the Promenade, right in the centre of town. The first gun is at 2:30pm, so make sure you've got your spot before then!

....and while you're in the Promenade you could participate in the annual Crab fishing contest. All you need is a bucket, line, and bait....and all of these are supplied by Cobh Tourism. Fishing starts at 3:30pm and finishes at 5pm. Rumour has it that 'claws' is still at large in front of the Prom. Can you catch him?