The Heritage Card guarantees free admission to all our fee-paying State managed OPW Heritage Sites located throughout the country for one year from the date of first use (with the exception of Muckross Traditional Farms, Killarney). At certain locations, parking facilities and ancillary services are provided by other bodies or agencies. There may be a charge for the use of such services. Any such charges are separate to and are not covered by the Heritage Card. Heritage Card New The cards cost as follows:
Adult €21.00. Senior (60+) €16.
Student/Child (6-18 years) €8.00
Family €55.00 (2 adults + Children < 18)
Heritage Cards are non-transferable and not replaceable if lost or stolen.

For information on location, opening times etc. of sites that can be visited with an OPW Heritage Card please browse the sites by selecting a region from the main menu. Alternatively use the search or sitemap.

Contact:
Telephone: 353 (0)1 647 6592
Email: heritagecard@opw.ie
Website: heritageireland.com

Instructions: click through to the Heritage Ireland website and follow the choices shown below:

The quickest and most convenient way to purchase an OPW Heritage Card is to buy it at the first OPW fee-paying site you visit. Please note that credit card facilities are only available at a few of our larger Heritage Sites - i.e. Brú na Bóinne, Battle of the Boyne, Castletown House, Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin Castle, Kilkenny Castle, Clonmacnoise, Ionad an Bhlascaoid Mhóir (The Blasket Centre) and Muckross House.

Alternatively, complete and print off the form and either fax or post it to us. Please note that a separate form is required for each OPW Heritage Card application. Please allow 28 days for receipt of cards by mail.

Emigration & the Famine
From 1848 to 1950, over 6 million adults and children emigrated from Ireland – over 2.5 million departed from Cobh, making it the single most important port of emigration. This exodus from Ireland was largely as a result of poverty, crop failures, the land system and a lack of opportunity. Irish emigration reached unprecedented proportions during the famine as people fled from hunger and disease. The famine resulted as a consequence of widespread potato crop failure. Failure of the crop was not unusual in Ireland so the partial failures in 1845 did not cause particular concern. In 1846 the potato crop failed completely and in the years 1847-1849 there was either total or partial crop failure of whatever potato crop could be planted. This had a devastating effect on the Irish population who largely depended on the potato crop as their main source of food. Escape was seen by many as the only chance for survival : between 1845 and 1851 over 1,500,000 people emigrated from Ireland.

Contact:
Telephone: 353 (0) 21 481 3591
Email: info@cobhheritage.com
Website: www.cobhheritage.com

Instructions: click through to the Emigration Museum site and check the availability and make a reservation.

This was more than had left the country in the previous half century. Many famine emigrants went initially to British North America (now Canada) because of fare structures and government regulations, but the majority subsequently settled in the United States.

Annie Moore Story

Located outside the Cobh Heritage Centre is the statue of Annie Moore and her two brothers. Annie Moore became the first ever emigrant to be processed in Ellis Island in the United States when it officially opened on 1st January 1892. Annie and her brothers sailed from Queenstown on the SS Nevada on the 20th December and arrived after 12 days of travelling in steerage.