A law requiring political parties to field 30% male and female candidates in the next two general elections if they are to continue to receive state funding is “a reasonable course of action to address the historic under-representation of women in Irish politics”, the High Court has been told.

Plans to develop a stately home and 400-acre park into one of the country’s top tourist attractions have already received a major boost.

Despite a marked improvement in the local elections, women still account for just 20% of local councillors, write Adrian Kavanagh, Fiona Buckley, Claire McGing, and Noirín Clancy

Keeping up with the Kardashians during the daily re-runs of their reality TV show is child’s play compared to catching up with the Kardashians along the highways and byways of East Cork.

Twelve-year-old schoolgirl Fiona Buckley will be hitting the books as usual next Friday — but on a grander scale. She’ll be reading from her newly-published novel as part of Listowel Writers’ Week.

Bright, fun, futuristic and a little fantastic — just what the man who gave Fitzgerald Park its name would have appreciated.

A new online Jersey Shore-style reality show which charts “a typical day” in the life of young Corkonians has become a YouTube hit.

The €2.3m regeneration of Cork’s landmark Fitzgerald Park will help attract more British tourists to Ireland.

The Ballyhea protest group took their battle to write down Ireland’s banking debt to the European Commission and one of the key people in the troika.

Cork tourism is expected to receive a significant boost as a result of the Gathering this year, as confidence in the Irish tourism industry is at its highest since 2007.

“I don’t see myself as a victim of the system, or anything like that. I made a choice, because it was a 24/7 job that I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice that element of my family for,” says Olwyn Enright.

THE hanging gardens of Babylon could be coming to Cork.

THE Clipper yacht race stopover in Co Cork last year attracted more than 105,000 visitors and boosted the local economy by in excess of €5 million.

IT already regards itself as the ‘real capital’. Now Cork has launched a bid to become the country’s festivals capital.

KERRY natives successful in businesses overseas are to be invited to a Farmleigh-type meeting in the county next May with a view to creating jobs at home.

TOURISTS and natives alike are being encouraged to discover the local secrets and hidden history of Cork city with the development of two new iPhone and iPod applications which will bring them on an audio journey around the city.

A TAOISEACH should be automatically re-elected to the Dáil at the end of his or her term, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin has suggested.

CORK is in line for a maritime extravaganza set to rival the Tall Ships race that enthralled the community in 1991.

A MAJOR trade mission to France has unexpectedly resulted in an offer to set up offices in China to promote Cork businesses.

IT’S all hands on deck to ensure everything is shipshape for Ireland’s largest sailing regatta next week.

CHINESE newlyweds stopped traffic yesterday on their way to a special wedding blessing which will be beamed into millions of homes next month.

IT’S an ill wind that doesn’t blow somebody some good, as a recreational facility in Kenmare discovered this summer.

ALL tourist roads may soon lead to west Cork following the success of the Clonakilty district in a prestigious competition funded and organised by Fáilte Ireland and the European Union.

A CIRCUS controversially moved from a public viewing area outside Killarney, on Monday, found a new pitch yesterday.

A CIRCUS big top, which was erected in a popular viewing area near Killarney for Easter, was taken down last evening after Failte Ireland, which owns the land in question, contacted the circus management.

BUSINESS and tourism leaders in Cork launched a stinging attack on the region’s tourist promotion board last night after a major blunder.

MEMBERS of Cork Kerry Tourism are facing a crucial vote this week on a major restructuring plan for the tourist industry.