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| QUEENSTOWN HARBOR, COUNTY CORK. -The superb harbor shown in the sketch was, according to Mr. T. O'Neill Russell, and other distinguished Irish scholars, formerly, called Lough Mahon, as the place now senselessly called Queenstown, after a sovereign who systematically avoided Ireland, was, less than fifty years ago, called "the Cove of Cork." The harbor is approached from the ocean by a deep-water channel two miles long and one broad. The haven itself has an area of three miles by two, and is quite capable of holding in safely the combined squadrons of Great Britain. It is completely land-locked and strongly fortified. The defenses were begun in 1791, under the direction of the talented engineer officer, Major-General Vallencey-an Englishman who, in addition to his military duties, took a singular delight in studying the ancient literature and archaeological remains of Ireland. Spike Island, the famous spot of land on which stands the convict prison, received John Mitchel, as a prisoner, in 1848, before he was transported to the antipodes, for having attempted the liberation of Ireland. Close to it is Haulbowline, the depot for naval supplies and both islands protect the harbor from the flood and ebb tides, which run with a strong current. |
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