Cobh - The Harbour and the Spire

Cobh - The Harbour and the Spire

Morning moves on Cork Harbour,
Light along the quay,
Cobh looks out from Great Island,
With the spire above the sea.

Once called Cove, then Queenstown,
Now Cobh above the tide,
The harbour holds the names of those
Who gathered side by side.

Coloured houses climb the hillside,
Windows catching fire,
And St Colman's rises over all,
The harbour and the spire.

From railway stone to water,
From platform, pier and prayer,
The town still keeps the footsteps
Of the people leaving there.

Cobh, Cobh, harbour of the west,
Where the bells ring over water,
And the tired hearts came to rest.
Cobh, Cobh, by the rolling sea,
The spire keeps watch above the town,
The harbour keeps memory.

At the Queenstown Story doorway,
Old journeys rise again,
Coffin ships and ocean liners,
Hope and hunger, loss and rain.

Annie Moore stood at the threshold,
New York waiting far away,
First through Ellis Island's gateway,
From this harbour on that day.

Cobh, Cobh, harbour of the west,
Where the bells ring over water,
And the tired hearts came to rest.
Cobh, Cobh, by the rolling sea,
The spire keeps watch above the town,
The harbour keeps memory.

Titanic called at Queenstown,
One April morning bright,
One hundred twenty-three went aboard,
Into history and night.

Lusitania's sorrow followed,
Off Kinsale in wartime foam,
Cobh sent boats across the water,
And brought the wounded home.

Not every bell is celebration,
Some are mercy through the rain,
Christ-light in the cathedral windows,
Grace for every unnamed pain.

For every hand that waved from harbour,
Every prayer beside the shore,
Cobh keeps watch in stone and music,
Singing softly evermore.

Spike Island lies across the water,
Haulbowline holds the naval line,
Boats move slow through morning silver,
Past the houses bright with shine.

So let the carillon keep ringing,
Forty-nine bells in the air,
Let the harbour carry memory,
Let the spire lift every prayer.

Cobh, Cobh, harbour of the west,
Where the bells ring over water,
And the tired hearts came to rest.
Cobh, Cobh, by the rolling sea,
The spire keeps watch above the town,
The harbour keeps memory.

Cobh, Cobh, through the salt and light,
From Queenstown's quay to St Colman's,
Your song stays warm tonight.

Harbour and spire, water and bell,
Cobh remembers what waves can tell.
Harbour and spire, mercy and sea,
Cobh keeps the names in memory.

The harbour keeps memory.