What to do in East Cork

What to See and Do in East Cork.      Best Activity and Experiences East Cork.     Family Days Out East Cork

From Cork city travel East along the N25 towards Cobh, Carrigtowhill, Midleton, and Youghal.  Details pf what to see and do with booking links.  Train links from Cork city to Fota, Cobh and Midleton.  

Fota Island 

Fota Island is reached by the R624 off the N25 Cork to Midleton Road and is linked to the mainland by a bridge.  Fota House and Arboretum and Fota Wildlife Park both make the island well worth a visit. The latter opened in 1993 and is one of Ireland’s premier tourist attractions and conservation sites with animals such as giraffes and zebras roaming the parklands, various monkeys in the wooded areas and an important cheetah breeding programme. Birds include pelicans, some of whom have occasionally escaped and been seen as far away as Arklow, Co Wicklow in 2021. 

Fota Island Resort has a large 4 star Hotel and the adjacent three course golf club has hosted the Irish Open on three occasions. In its oak wooded setting it makes the perfect location for a great round of golf.

Great Island

Follow the R624 road over the ancient stone bridge onto Great Island, the largest in Cork Harbour, and turn left past  beautifully renovated Belvelly Castle which is now a private residence. Follow the  L2989 road to Cobh and it will bring you into the town beside St Colman’s Cathedral. This road passes Cobh Old Church Cemetery,  the final resting place of the victims of the Lusitania, torpedoed by a German submarine off the Old Head of Kinsale in 1915.

Cobh.   

The town of Cobh sits at the lower end of the world’s second largest harbour, on Great Island, which is easily reached via bridges from the N25  which has buildings going back 300 years of military interest. There is also a cross river ferry from  Passage on the mainland to Rushbrooke just north of Cobh. This route is used by many locals who want to access Crosshaven, Carrigaline and Kinsale avoiding Cork City traffic. 

From Viking longships to Norman cargo ships, tall ships and modern car ferries, container ships  and cruise ships Cork’s lower harbour has been used by people from all around the world. This was the centre for exports of butter, whiskey and meats from Ireland’s lush pasture lands, as well as the emigration port for nearly 3 million people. The Titanic made its final port of call at Cobh in 1912  and the Lusitania in  1915.  Pirates also operated along the coast, with  Annie Blue  being one of the most famous.  Majestic tall masted ships called here in 1991 as part of the Tall Ships Race. The Irish Navy is based on Haulbowline Island directly opposite Cobh. The town is overlooked by a  magnificent cathedral, impressive Victorian residences and the most photographed houses in Ireland on a hill from the town archway  called the Deck of Cards 

 Cobh Cathedral –   Cobh Cathedral, in the diocese of Cloyne, is dedicated to St Colman of Cloyne and was consecrated in 1919. This imposing  church was designed by the famous architect Edward Pugin, took 47 years to build, has a spire 90m tall and  is perched on a hill overlooking the town and harbour. The cathedral has Ireland’s only carillon organ.

Annie Moore – Cobh Heritage Centre is in the Victorian  Railway building at  Deepwater Quay on the western side of the town where the cruise ships berth.  A statue of Annie Moore and her 2 younger brothers  overlooks the harbour. They sailed steerage on the Nevada out of Cobh, then called Queesntown, in December 1892.  Annie was the first person processed at the new  immigration facility on Ellis Island, New York, and stands as a symbol of the millions of Irish who emigrated from this same port to the USA and Australia, most never to return to Ireland. One hundred years later two statues of Annie and her brothers were commisioned from the Belgian Irish sculptor Jeanne Rynhart – one for Cobh and one for New York.  

Cobh Heritage Centre – Spike Island is an island of 103 acres off the coast from Cobh in Cork Harbour, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchell. The island’s strategic location within the harbour meant it was used for defence by the British Admiralty and also as a prison

Spike Island  Tours  – Take a boat trip from Kennedy Quay in Cobh to Spike Island which won Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction Award in 2017. The island was originally a monastic site, then became the world’s largest  island  prison, and then a fortress guarding Cork Harbour. There are guided tours and scenic walks around this star shaped fortress and eye opening exhibits telling the history of Ireland through the people who were held here. Prebook tickets here.

Boat Trip on Cork Harbour  – To complete the day in Cobh take a Guided Boat tour of the lower harbour with up to 4 people per boat. Hear the stories of the harbour as you pilot your boat around the bay  with an expert guide in a nearby rib boat. Pre-book here  for this one hour adventure on the water. For groups a High Speed Rib ride around the harbour can be arranged. 

Midleton 

Midleton is the main market town in east Cork and is famous for its Saturday Farmers’ Market. Guided tours of the market  can be pre-booked. Midleton is the home of Irish Whiskey with the Old Jameson Distillery  offering a variety of excellent tours. Why not take a guided Distillery Tour and savour the whiskey aromas as they mature in the vast vaults. 

 A Greenway from Midleton to Youghal is in development and will offer great options for activities. In Ballack  Park is a memorial called Kindred Spirit in memory of the Great Famine. The sculpture commemorates the generous donation from the Native American Choctaw people in 1847 to support the famine relief in Ireland.  The striking sculpture is made up of a circle of nine  6 meter (20 foot) tall stainless steel eagle feathers created by Alex Pentak and dedicated in 2017 by Chief Garry Batton of the Choctaw Nation. 

Cloyne 

The village of Cloyne, eight km south of Midleton  is famous for its round tower. The nearby Church of Ireland St Colman’s Cathedral is where George Berkeley, the noted philosopher and after whom the town of Berkeley in California is named, was bishop for 20 years. The beaches  of Inch, Ballycronnen and …\\

Villages of East Cork

Ballycotton – The Village of  Ardnachinch Beach, Cliff walk ends in Ballyandreen beach is a distance of 3.5 km along the cliff. NO beach at Ballycotton but beside the Pier is a small beach called Conger. There is also a swimming area down steps as you start the cliff walk. There is a ghost ship washed up on the rocks and visible along the Cliff walk. Balluycotton is a fishing port and a good place to fish from the shore or go Deep Sea Angling. A lighthouse on an island in Ballycotton bay has tours daily in summer. Carpark with picnic area at the star of the Cliff walk overlooking the sea. 

Shahagarry – In the small village of Shanagarry is the Ballymaloe Cookery School and Stephen Pierce pottery. There is a Design Studio in Shanagarry and at nearby Garrvoe a long beach overlooking Ballycotton Bay

Youghal

Youghal town is where the river backwater meet the sea, with a wide estuary. Youghal is famous for its long beaches, swimming and walking along the boardwalk.  Youghal Beach, Front Strand Beach from the town has a long boardwalk along the front and Youghal beach are both sandy. There is a Sandpit beyond Youghal which is a great place for fishing, where the sea meets the river Blackwater. 

The Raleigh Quarter is named after Sir Walter Raleigh who sailed from here.  St Marys medieval Collegiate Church is off the main Street, has  guided tours.  This 13th Century church telling of the history of the 1st earls of Cork the Boyle Family. Visit the recently renovated Youghal Clock Tower over the main street where you can hear the stories of the town, with Guided tours from 11am to 4pm June, July and August. .

In the 1950’s the film Moby Dicy staring …was filmed in Youghal, and scenes are found on the outside of the pub opposite the Tourist Office, where you also find a visitor’s centre. Free Parking behind the tourist office