Ireland's southern capital and the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way. From the deep-water terminal at Ringaskiddy it is a short drive to the city, the harbour towns of Cobh and Kinsale, and on to the lakes and mountains of Kerry.
Tap any marker for its history, plus the driving time and distance from the ferry terminal. Pan and zoom to look further afield.
Cork
7 stops
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AttractionFerry port
Where to go
Seven stops within easy reach of Ringaskiddy Ferry Terminal, with the history behind each.
City
Cork City
28 min19 kmfrom Cork
Ireland's second-largest city, built on the marshy estuary of the River Lee — its Irish name Corcaigh means “marsh.” It grew from a 6th-century monastery into a Viking trading port, and its covered English Market has traded since 1788.
Through history
6th C.St Finbarr founds a monastery on the marsh that gives Cork its name.
915–922Norse settlers establish a permanent trading town on the Lee.
1185Cork receives its first royal charter from Prince John, Lord of Ireland.
1788The English Market opens on its present site, originally as a meat market.
Revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1890–1922) was born at Woodfield, Co. Cork; in May 2011 Queen Elizabeth II walked the English Market on the first British state visit to independent Ireland.
English MarketSt Fin Barre's CathedralRiver Lee quays
Heritage
Cobh
45 min31 kmfrom Cork
A harbour town on Great Island in Cork Harbour that, as Queenstown, was Ireland's main 19th-century emigration port and the Titanic's final port of call on 11 April 1912. The French Gothic St Colman's Cathedral stands above its terraced waterfront.
Through history
1849Formerly Cove, the town is renamed Queenstown for a visit by Queen Victoria; it takes the name Cobh in 1920.
1892Annie Moore sails from here and becomes the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island on 1 January.
1912Queenstown is the Titanic's last port of call; 123 passengers are tendered out to board.
1915Over 100 Lusitania victims are buried at Cobh after the ship is sunk off the Old Head of Kinsale.
Annie Moore, a 17-year-old emigrant from Co. Cork, became the first person admitted through New York's Ellis Island on 1 January 1892; bronze statues mark it at both Cobh and Ellis Island.
A medieval stone keep near Cork built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry lords, famous for the Blarney Stone set in its battlements — said to grant eloquence to those who kiss it. The estate also holds extensive gardens and the 19th-century Blarney House.
Through history
c.1210A stone fortification replaces an earlier timber structure on the site.
1446The present keep is rebuilt by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muskerry.
1646Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill seize the castle in the Confederate Wars.
1690–91In the Williamite War the MacCarthy lands are confiscated after the 4th Earl of Clancarty is captured.
The word “blarney” — clever, flattering talk — is popularly tied to a MacCarthy lord's endlessly evasive dealings with Queen Elizabeth I.
Kiss the Blarney Stone15th-century keepCastle gardens
Coast
Kinsale
28 min25 kmfrom Cork
A harbour town on the south Cork coast known for the star-shaped Charles Fort, its part in the 1601 Battle of Kinsale, and the cluster of restaurants that earned it the label “Gourmet Capital of Ireland.”
Through history
1601–02The Battle of Kinsale follows a Spanish landing; the Gaelic defeat effectively ends the Nine Years' War.
1677–82Charles Fort, a star-shaped bastion fort named for Charles II, is built at Summer Cove.
1690Charles Fort falls after a 13-day siege when the Earl of Marlborough takes Kinsale.
1915The Lusitania is torpedoed by U-20 about 11 nautical miles off the Old Head, killing 1,197.
In 1601 Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Donnell marched their armies south to Kinsale; their defeat there led to the 1607 Flight of the Earls.
Charles FortOld Head & LusitaniaSeafood restaurants
Food & drink
Midleton
38 min36 kmfrom Cork
An East Cork town whose Old Midleton Distillery — now the Jameson Experience — holds the largest pot still ever built. The historic site distilled whiskey until 1975 and reopened to visitors in 1992.
Through history
1825The Murphy brothers buy the site for £4,000 and convert a former woollen mill into a distillery.
1854A copper pot still of 31,618 gallons (~143,000 L) is installed — the largest ever built.
1966Jameson, Powers and the Cork Distilleries Company merge to form Irish Distillers.
1975Distilling moves next door; the old plant reopens as the Jameson Experience in 1992.
Irish Distillers, formed by the 1966 merger, still produces Jameson at the adjacent New Midleton Distillery today.
World's largest pot stillJameson Experience1825 distillery
Nature
Killarney & Ring of Kerry
1 h 2098 kmfrom Cork
Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry was Ireland's first national park, created in 1932 when the Muckross Estate was given to the state. It holds the Lakes of Killarney, 15th-century Ross Castle and Tudor-style Muckross House, and starts the 179 km Ring of Kerry drive.
Through history
15th C.Ross Castle, a lakeside tower house, is built by the O'Donoghue Mór clan.
1843Muckross House is completed for Henry Arthur Herbert in the Tudor Revival style.
1861Queen Victoria stays two nights at Muckross; the lavish preparations help ruin the Herberts.
1932The Muckross Estate is donated to the state, creating Ireland's first national park.
Queen Victoria's 1861 visit to Muckross House helped turn Killarney into an international tourist destination.
Muckross HouseRoss CastleRing of Kerry
Heritage
Rock of Cashel
1 h 15102 kmfrom Cork
A limestone outcrop in Co. Tipperary crowned by a medieval complex — a round tower from around 1100, the Romanesque Cormac's Chapel and a 13th-century Gothic cathedral — that was the seat of the Kings of Munster before being granted to the Church in 1101.
Through history
977Brian Boru is crowned king at Cashel and makes it his Munster power base.
1101King Muirchertach Ua Briain, Brian Boru's great-grandson, grants the Rock to the Church.
1127–34Cormac's Chapel, a masterpiece of Irish Romanesque, is built and consecrated.
1647Cashel is sacked on 15 September by Inchiquin's Parliamentarian army.
By tradition recorded in the Tripartite Life of St Patrick, the saint baptised the King of Munster (named as Aengus) at Cashel in the 5th century.
Cormac's ChapelRound towerGothic cathedral
One overnight crossing away
Hibernia Line sails direct between Cork and Boulogne-sur-Mer — no UK transit, no booking fees. Board after dinner, wake up on the other shore.
