Give the oars a quick rattle in the oarlocks and settle onto the wooden seat before you undertake the 45-minute row from Ross Castle, Killarney, Co Kerry, to a stronghold of early Irish monasticism.

The newly elected Government led by Garret FitzGerald insisted the B&I Ferries could only close its Cork-Pembroke service in early 1983 if it agreed to maintain a summer service, against the advice of an interdepartmental group.