Additional funding after 2017 for the LEADER rural development programme has been suggested by Environment, Community and Local Government Minister Simon Coveney.

He shares the same name of a famous political figure and Independent TD Michael Collins could have a lot to offer the party.

A lifeboat village battling the loss of rural services has plans to launch the first community shop of its kind in West Cork early next summer.

Communities throughout West Cork will celebrate the region’s first ever ‘Feelgood Festival’, a mix of sports, good food, music and companionship later this week.

A community bicycle rental scheme, the first of its kind in an Irish town, is being planned for West Cork.

AN investment that included land, and buildings and rental income has been sold in West Cork for c €1.4m.

The future development of West Cork’s economy will come under the spotlight at a special meeting later this week.

Urban dwellers may not be aware of the importance of the EU’s Leader programme to our economy.

Ireland’s first ‘Pod Pairc’ is a shining example of community cohesion, according Fianna Fáil Agriculture spokesman Eamon Ó Cuiv.

Details have yet to emerge as to the buyer of Clonakilty’s Waterfront site, gone sale agreed to an undisclosed buyer, in trust, after a best bids and tender process via Lisney, and likely to have been bid considerably over its initial €1.2m guide.

Ironically, a man called Michael Collins was one of the reasons Fine Gael got hammered in West Cork.

Inspired by the ancient dwellings of monks, a west Cork venture brings glamping to a whole new level, says Louise Roseingrave

The creation of new playgrounds, tourism and heritage projects and much needed construction jobs in West Cork hangs on whether the Department of the Environment agrees to provide Leader funding to 27 groups.

It’s a jewel in the crown of tourist haven West Cork but Inchydoney, with its famed sandy beaches, may soon become a spectacular setting as a “theatre beneath the stars”.

An historic lighthouse is set to open to the public to help raise funds for an ambitious restoration project.

The West Cork region is “bleeding to death” due to Government cuts, protesters claimed yesterday.

A delay in Leader funding for Kilmurry Museum has sparked a war of words between Environment Minister Phil Hogan and West Cork Development Partnership.

Author Alice Taylor has criticised Environment Minister Phil Hogan for what she called his “high-handed intervention” in altering the European funding model for rural projects.

THE dead leave this world taking their stories to the grave.

In the first of its type in the country, a mobile unit is on the roads of West Cork helping to promote good mental health.

A €2.4m budget cut for a development agency will pull the plug on 50 new jobs and signal the end of several crucial projects in West Cork, it has been warned.

More than 40 farming families have collectively launched a probiotic compost, Celtic Gold, the first in a range of wormcast-enriched products.

A heritage project documenting ancient graveyards may forge links with descendants abroad to encourage tourism in Ireland.

Several of West Cork’s blue flag beaches are set for a facelift as part of a new initiative.

It has long been a mecca for artists, writers, musicians, and craft workers — now researchers are to investigate why West Cork attracts so many creative people, assess their contribution to the economy and outline how the sector could be developed to create more jobs.

Six years and €300,000 later the full impact of a spectacular stone amphitheatre, lookout point and meandering paths at a renowned beauty spot is about to hit the thousands of visitors who regularly enjoy Inchydoney beach in West Cork.

Two historic Cork towns have ‘app-ed’ their game to help visitors.

A spectacular headland in West Cork is getting a facelift in a €300,000 project.

Blanket assumptions of predestined roles to be assumed by the sexes have bedevilled the human species.

A working group is to be set up to examine the feasibility of turning miles of former railways in West Cork into walking trails.

A West Cork town is set to be transformed into an exotic jungle location with its own safari trail and wild animals such as tigers and orangutans.

Two hundred new jobs and an €8m spin-off for the economy of West Cork would result from even a modest investment in the region’s walking tourism, according to a report to be launched this week.

Plans are being drawn up to create a €750,000 visitor centre to commemorate the man whose name is synonymous with Gaelic football.

The West Cork Development Partnership (WCDP) is one of many units around the country which provide EU and Government supported LEADER assistance for projects.

As a follow-on article to my recent series looking at how to evaluate on-farm and off-farm opportunities, this week I look at some sources of funding for potential enterprises you might be considering.

A West Cork village is gearing up for an influx of more than 3,500 people next month as locals make final preparations for one of the most prestigious drama festivals on the national circuit.

Eamonn Pitts reports from a recent Teagasc/National Rural Network conference on prospects for development of the rural economy