FAMOUS PEOPLE OF COBH
From world-class sportspeople born and raised in the town, to famous celebrities that have connections, many a famous face has visited Cobh’s shores.

LAUREL & HARDY IN COBH
A lovely story from a Cobh resident about Laurel and Hardy’s visit to Cobh in 1953.

Treasa Goodwin Smyth
Treasa Goodwin Smyth was born in 1960 in Ireland. She is a twin. Her mother is from Tallow, County Waterford, Ireland and worked as a cook for a few years before marrying her father, a farmer from Cobh, County Cork. Treasa was born and raised on a farm and falls in the middle of ten siblings. Her father died when she was 12.

Stephen Ireland
Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986 in County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who began his career in Cobh. Ireland currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.

Staf Gebruers
Staf Gebruers (1902-1970) Born in Antwerp and from a musical family, Staf Gebruers received his early education at the local Jesuit schools. A talent for choral music soon became apparent and at the tender age of 16 he was conducting his own youth choir. He was hired as the Carillonneur, Organist and Choirmaster of St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh in 1924.

Sonia O’Sullivan
Sonia O’Sullivan (born 28 November 1969) in Cobh, County Cork. She began her running career in Ballymore Running Club which is located in the eastern side of Cobh Town. She was one of the world’s leading female 5000 m runners for most of the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century.

Robert Forde
Robert Forde (29 August 1875 – 13 March 1959) was an Antarctic explorer and member of the Terra Nova Expedition under Captain Robert Falcon Scott from 1910–1912.Robert Forde was born in the parish of Moviddy 16 miles W.S.W. from Cork (city),Ireland.

Patrick Joseph “Patsy” Donovan
Patrick Joseph “Patsy” Donovan (March 16, 1865 – December 25, 1953) was an Irish-American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1890 to 1907, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. Patsy was born in Cobh, Co. Cork (known as Queenstown at the time).

Maeve Higgins
Maeve Higgins is an Irish comedian from Ballymore in Cobh and now lives in New York.

Jack Doyle
Jack Doyle (31 August 1913 in Cobh, Ireland – 13 December 1978 in Paddington, London), known as “The Gorgeous Gael” was at one time or another a contender for the British Boxing Championship, a Hollywood actor and an accomplished tenor.

Fergus J. O’Rourke
Fergus J. O’Rourke (1923–2010) was an Irish scientist whose publications included contributions to myrmecology and medical entomology.

Daniel Healy
Daniel Healy(1884–1962), British police officer in India, was born 22 August 1884 in Queenstown (Cobh), Co. Cork, the eldest son of John James Healy, a shoemaker and merchant and Anna Maria Healy (née O’Connor). His mother died a few months after giving birth to the younger of his two sisters. Educated by the Presentation Brothers in Queenstown and Cork city, Healy came first in the Indian Police exams in 1903, beating candidates from top British schools. In 1904 he travelled to Bombay and began a thirty-six year career.

Sir Eyre Massey Shaw
Sir Eyre Massey Shaw (1830-1908), related to the celebrated dramatist George Bernard Shaw, was born in Ballymore, went to school in Queenstown (Cobh) and then attended Trinity College Dublin.

Roy Keane
Although born in Cork City, an adopted son of Cobh is the very famous former Cobh Ramblers player Roy Keane.

FRANZ LISZT’S VISIT TO COBH
Second only to Queen Victoria, perhaps the most famous visitor to the harbour town was the celebrated Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt (1811-1886).