24 May 2025
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Fans of ‘tall ships’ are in luck in Cork today, thanks to a visiting vessel from Spain.
On first glance it looks like a stereotypical ‘pirate ship’. The reproduction of a Spanish 17th-century galleon is named ‘Galeón Andalucía‘, and is moored at Custom House Quay as part of the Cork Harbour Festival.
Tickets to visit the tied up ship are 30 euro for a family of 2 adults with 3 children, or 7 euro per child.
Galeón Andalucía is 160-feet in length, and is a full-sized replica built in 2009 at the Punta Umbria shipyard in Huelva, South West Spain. This type of armed merchant vessels was constructed in Spain and Portugal between the 16th and 18th centuries. For 300 years, these type of ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and sailed around the Caribbean Sea and the Americans, and Pacific.
The replica galleon has six decks and seven sails, and Cork is be the first port of call on its inaugural visit to Ireland.
The ship is operated by a Spanish charity called the Nao Victoria Foundation, tickets can be bought on their website.