The first ambassador of Barbados to Ireland paid an official visit to the Cobh Heritage Centre to celebrate “Cork’s interconnected past to Barbados” on Wednesday.
His Excellency Cleviston Haynes is based in the Embassy of Barbados in Dublin, which was established in May 2026.
Haynes was accompanied on a visit to the Cobh Heritage Centre by Kevin Farmer, who is based in Barbados and is the director of the Museum of Barbados and Historical Society.
The visit created an opportunity for “professional exchange” between the Cobh Heritage Centre and the Barbados museum, which are both dedicated to preserving and interpreting historical narratives.
The Cobh Heritage Centre preserves the stories of Irish migration across the world and Barbados occupies a “unique” place within that story, reflecting early links between Ireland and the Caribbean.
Some of displays at the Cobh Heritage Centre tell the story of The Abraham, which sailed from Kinsale in 1636 carrying what is believed to be the first recorded group of “involuntary Irish indentured servants”.
The ship was bound for Virginia, but diverted to Barbados.
The centre also features exhibits based on the writings of Richard Ligon, whose 1673 account of Barbados provides a contemporary record of life on the island, including observations of both indentured servants and enslaved Africans.
Ligon lived on the island from 1647 to 1650 after fleeing England during the English Civil War.
Between the 17th and 20th centuries, approximately 27 per cent of all Irish emigrants departed through the Port of Cork, including Cobh, formerly known as Queenstown, making it one of the most significant migration hubs in Irish history.
The exhibits in the centre on Barbados encourage “reflection on the complex social and economic systems that shaped the Atlantic world during the colonial period”.
Source: The Irish Times · Katie Mellett
At a glance
- Topic
- World
- Country
- 🇮🇪 IE
- Publisher language
- EN
- Added to Allnira