Cobh Heritage Centre: Experience The Queenstown Story of Emigration in Ireland's History
4.6
89 Ratings
Cobh
Immerse yourself in the rich history of Ireland's emigration at the Cobh Heritage Centre. Discover the stories of millions who left through the Queenstown port in search of a new life. Walk in the footsteps of your emigrant ancestors.
Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cobh Heritage Centre The Queenstown Story - Enter this beautifully restored Victorian railway station, a building with its own unique story. Your tour begins in the 1600’s when Irish emigrants left here for the Colonies of America and the West Indies. The tour follows chronologically the various destinations throughout the centuries where our emigrants settled. It is an emotive journey of exploration of the lives of over three million Irish emigrants. The tour includes sections on The Great Famine and also the connection with this port town and both Titanic and The Lusitania. “Walk in the footsteps of our Emigrant ancestors”
What's Included
  • Driver/guide
  • Guaranteed to skip the long lines
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
Additional Information

The Queenstown Story @ Cobh Heritage Centre, teeming with historical relevance and legacy, is an essential stop for any visitor. This engaging, educational hub is cleverly located within the refurbished Victorian Railway station in Cobh, a structure with its own significant past.

Considering that Cobh(Queenstown), one of the planet’s most exceptional natural harbours, was the departure point for countless individuals from Ireland’s history, there are numerous poignant and historical narratives of The Queenstown Story to explore. Over three million Irish citizens embarked from this harbor town seeking a fresh start.

The exhibits creatively cover a gamut of topics ranging from the tragedies of the Titanic and The Lusitania, the forced labor inflicted upon the forgotten Irish during the Cromwellian era to the West Indies and American Colonies, to the tales of emigration to Canada and North America. These displays are presented in an array of contemporary, pleasing and artistic formats.

Take a breather, and ‘Trace the Path of Our Emigrant Forebears’

Location
Cobh Heritage Centre. The Queenstown Story
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(89 Ratings)
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Christopher_w
May 22, 2024
Definitely a "Yes" on things to do in Cobh! - This place was great! We stayed in Cork City and took the 25 min train to Cobh. The Heritage Center is a 4 min walk from the train and if you want to go to the Titanic museum it's just another 4 min walk beyond that. All of it right on the water. The Heritage Center has a lovely Cafe with scones and coffee right before you enter the museum. The museum is self guided and has a good mix of things to read, listen to, and watch. You can even learn how to type Morse Code. We spend about 90-100 minutes here as we had only given 2 hours and didn't feel rushed. Plus, anyone who finishes early can enjoy a coffee in the cafe.
Review provided by Viator
Marcynorthyorkshire
May 6, 2024
Definitely worth a visit - Really worth a visit to learn about the Titanic story especially what happened to passengers. Also learned about Irish being forcibly transported as servants to Caribbean countries. Fascinating!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Frank_c
Apr 27, 2024
Nice emigration museum - Nice museum and good historical information. I was not aware of the numerous reasons for emigration from Ireland so this was an eye opening experience. Their is a very nice gift shop and cafe as well.
Review provided by Viator
Gaynor
Apr 4, 2024
Super informative! - This is a really good attraction. Mot only informative about the titanic but informative about the arra. Great displays. I came out knowing so much more than I did before. You can even look up history of ancestors!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thabisilet2024
Mar 5, 2024
Making good memories - We had a good time, made lots of nice memories and took a lot of pictures. The staff there is friendly and helpful. Great views and learnt a lot about Ireland history
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael
May 20, 2024
Interesting content but could improve visitor experience. - An excellent informative museum covering the emigration, Lusitania and Titanic - all of which featured heavily in the history of Cobh. Perhaps the highlight is the many photographs taken by Father Browne, who disembarked Titanic at Cobh. The difficulties facing the early emigrants, whether voluntary or forced, is well represented. Well worth a visit and for content deserves praise but there is a distinct lack of seating and poor lighting which makes some exhibits difficult to read.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K3250bnveronicao
May 10, 2024
The History of Cobh and it’s Heritage - The displays were very good with so much information, but it was not as easy to follow as I had hoped.The displayed information at each area was quite long and with audio playing in various areas it was distracting.The sequence of areas was not as fluid as it could be.The use of headset/ earphones with stories and summarised information would have made the experience easier and more memorable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
653cynthiac
Apr 26, 2024
Valuable history lesson - Nicely done overview. Good way to share the community's experiences beyond Titanic sailing including transporting many to new lives escaping famine/hardship and sadly those poor humans traded as slaves.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Larrym38
Oct 5, 2023
Hiding - I was puzzled. I had known for years about Queenstown and that It no longer existed . Like many others I had had family pass through . Noone has explained to me that it was actually COBH. A tremendous underselling of the place as I might just have passed by. I enjoyed much more than Titanic museum in Belfast as I felt really authentic and not just after the Titanic noise which is actually a pretty small part of the Migration saga
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Family4vacation
Oct 1, 2023
Not Overly Impressed - This visit was somewhat disappointing. Really, most of the displays are information already learned from documentaries or basic history lessons. Overall, we found the museum looking a bit "tired". I think it was difficult to compare this visit after being in Dublin with some of the larger more modern museums. Overall, we found Cobh to be a little on the rough/ seen better days town.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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