Passsage West Maritime Museum

Passage West Maritime Museum is volunteer-run museum located in Passage West, Cork Harbour, Ireland. The town was the original location of the Port of Cork until the late 1800s and predates Belfast as the home of Ireland’s steamship industry. The first steam ship constructed in Ireland was built at Hennessy Brothers shipyard in Passage in 1815. The museum’s collection comprises a wide range of categories including maritime history, shipbuilding and associated trades, emigration, US naval presence in Cork Harbour, the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway, social and political history and accounts relating to famous personalities. 

And of course, Passage West and its shipbuilding industry is probably best known through its association with the Royal Victoria Dockyard, which provided so much employment to its townspeople throughout the years.