A multi-agency red alert initiative has been launched in a West Cork peninsula aimed at preventing expensive equipment being stolen from boats berthed locally.

One of the biggest personnel shake-ups for years has taken place in the ranks of An Garda Siochána with six officers being promoted to the rank of chief superintendent and a further 34 inspectors elevated to superintendent.

Some 45 successful candidates for promotion to senior ranks in the Garda Síochána have been officially notified.

A teenager who lost both her father and aunt to suicide and has dedicated her time to promoting positive mental health, and a survivor of cancer who has used her experiences to help others battling the disease have won prestigious youth awards.

For several years, many of Ireland’s principal institutions, ranging from An Garda Síochána to the Catholic Church, have been embroiled in controversies of their own making.

Nominations are being sought for the West Cork Garda Youth Awards, one of the biggest community events on the region’s calendar.

A Cork schoolgirl whose local youth club made it to the finals of a national TV programme has won a major award in one of West Cork’s biggest and most popular youth contests.

A man who abused cannabis almost daily since he was 12 requires “intensive” care and counselling, a district judge said yesterday.

People leaving a school concert may have seen a man following a young woman who was later found semi-conscious in a Co Cork harbour town.

A young Skibbereen man who spent 20 days helping in the land and sea search for the Tit Bonhomme trawler off Union Hall has been named as one of the overall winners of the West Cork Garda Youth Awards.

A Leaving Cert student with cerebral palsy and a teenager who wrote a book, while caring for young siblings after her mother died of cancer, are among the winners of the 2012 West Cork Garda Youth Awards.

Cork County Council is to divert money allocated for road improvements in West Cork to repair roads badly damaged in the region by unprecedented flooding on Jun 28.

An Irishwoman and a Romanian man facing murder charges have been charged with a second murder in West Cork in November.

A man and a woman were this afternoon charged with the murder of a man in Bandon, west Cork in November.

A man who produced a knife during a domestic dispute was overpowered by armed gardaí after a three-hour stand-off at a house in West Cork.

A MAN and a woman charged with the murder of a man in West Cork in November have been further remanded to appear in court again next month because of the complexity of the investigation.

GARDAÍ investigating the murder of a British man in West Cork have traced his relatives in England.

GARDAÍ investigating the murder of a man in West Cork last night issued an appeal for help in tracing his final movements.

AN inspirational teenager who has overcome incredible odds to live a full life was among several young people honoured at a Garda awards scheme last night.

THE young woman who died in a Co Cork hotel room earlier this year while on weekend hen party died from acute carbon monoxide poisoning, it was confirmed yesterday.

An inquest has heard that gardaí are to prepare a file for the DPP following the death of a 35-year-old woman from carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this year at a Cork hotel.

THE AA was receiving a call-out to stricken drivers every 30 seconds at one point yesterday as commuters fought through sub-zero temperatures to get to school or work.

A TIRELESS devotee to community work and a young man who bravely battled cancer to continue his studies were among those recognised for their achievements at the West Cork Garda Youth Awards.

A MAJOR air and sea search was expected to be resumed today at the Old Head of Kinsale for a Hungarian man feared missing.

A 49-year-old man, charged with false imprisonment of West Cork widow Ann Corcoran, was remanded in custody today.

Gardaí say the body found in a remote woods in west Cork yesterday is that of missing woman Anne Corcoran.

Gardaí are expected to identify the body found in a wooded area of west Cork yesterday as that of missing woman Anne Corcoran.

GARDAÍ searching for a widow who disappeared in suspicious circumstances have asked people to contact them if they find any discarded car keys or mobile phones.

The search for a 60-year-old widow from West Cork has become one of the largest since the hunt for Midleton schoolboy Robert Holohan four years ago.

Gardaí are checking to see if a bank card belonging to Anne Corcoran was used by someone else since she went missing 16 days ago.

GARDAÍ have drafted in specialist forensic experts to examine a car belonging to a 60-year-old widow who disappeared in suspicious circumstances.

GARDAÍ investigating the suspicious disappearance of a 60-year-old woman say they have a new confirmed sighting of the widow.

SOMEBODY may have driven the car belonging to a 60-year-old Co Cork widow after she disappeared in suspicious circumstances.

Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Cork woman Anne Corcoran are anxious to speak to anyone who has information regarding her car.

ANNE CORCORAN told people she was looking forward to attending a dance in her home village of Kilbrittain, Co Cork, tonight.

THREE British men have been further remanded in custody in connection with the biggest seizure of drugs in the history of the state.

GARDAÍ said last night that they were keeping an open mind on how a 24-year-old man met his death in Kinsale, Co Cork.

GARDAÍ hunting a gang who held a family at gunpoint before robbing them of cash and taking their bank details were trying to trace the raiders’ getaway vehicle last night.

GARDAÍ are still searching for a sniper who carried out at least 10 shootings in a three-hour spree through Co Cork.