Rhode Island – a great destination

As well as hoping the Americans come in huge numbers to check out Cork and the start of the Wild Atlantic Way, our friends across the water are equally hopeful we will avail of the chance to visit one of their east coast’s most popular destinations.

Providence itself will boast many attractions for the Irish travelling over there. 

‘It is simple and affordable to get to now and it is a beautiful area,’ said Norwegian boss Bjorn Kjos.

‘Nearby you have Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and a lot of people there are from Ireland, too.’

The airport is also close to Newport, where JFK married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12th, 1953, at St Mary’s Church.

 The popular holiday island of Nantucket is also nearby - a familiar name to many thousands of Cork J1 students who have found summer holiday work there over the years. 

Providence is the capital of Rhode Island and among the oldest cities in the US.

Established in 1636, Providence has many historic buildings and places of interest. One popular spot is Waterplace Park, an urban park on the Woonasquatucket River. Finished in 1994, Waterplace Park is connected to an extensive cobblestone-paved pedestrian walkway along the waterfront, known as Riverwalk.

The dome of the State House is the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world and the second-largest marble dome after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Keen shoppers will love the Westminster Arcade, which is the oldest enclosed shopping centre in America.

The main art museum is the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, boasting the 20th-largest collection in the country and the city is also home to the fourth oldest library in the US.  

Edgar Allan Poe met his love interest here – Sarah Helen Whitman – on one of his many visits to Providence.

Of course, nearby Newport is twinned with our very own Kinsale and both cities have forged mutual links for some time now. In fact, a delegation from Cork County Council will be going there ahead of this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade.

The delegation this year comprises director of municipal district operations Mary Ryan, municipal district officer Enda O’Halloran and chairman of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, Cllr Kevin Murphy.

Of course, they won’t, as yet, be able to access the cheap flights getting them into Rhode Island, but from July, the Cork-Providence route is bound to be on the holiday plan for many Kinsale people who have made strong friendships with friends on the other side of the Atlantic.

 – Siobhán Cronin