A Gaeltacht island off Co Cork is set to become the first offshore community in the country to develop a whiskey distillery.

Cork County Council has been slammed for not giving its seal of approval to pier improvements on Cape Clear for fear of disturbing nearby marine mammals.

Massive storm gates will be installed within weeks to protect an island community which was battered by storms last year.

JIMMY GRALTON is the only Irishman to be deported from Ireland in the history of the state, (80 years ago), and he’s also the focus of a film being shot in Co Leitrim at the moment by Ken Loach, which is a companion piece to his 2006 Palme d’Or winner, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Some 400 visitors stepped off the Cape Clear ferry for the island’s 19th international storytelling festival over the weekend.

A RECENT column on difficulties in getting children to play outdoors and learn to appreciate the natural environment led to a big reaction from readers.

FROM a small grassy airfield at a country crossroads to an international airport used by millions of passengers every year — a book charting the remarkable history of Cork Airport was cleared for take-off last night.

ISLANDERS off Cork are planning a sea change in their attitude to the development and promotion of tourism.