There is hardly a more politically-charged fulcrum of international affairs in the world than the Straits of Hormuz in the Middle East.

Abbey Island can be reached in just a few steps across the beach at Derrynane, Co Kerry.

Our coastal islands possess fascinating stories but the almost countless islands on Irish lakes have their fair share of stories too: an abandoned hippy colony on Roeillaun in Lough Corrib Co Galway; a round tower sacked by the Vikings on Devenish Island, Co Fermanagh. 

A LONG-HELD belief that plants on a famous island in the Killarney Lakes may cure some ailments will be tested soon.