I brokered a drug transaction this week. It involved two school mums.

In contrast to floods in Ireland, this island of La Gomera in the Canaries now suffers a worrying deprivation of rain and an increasing occurrence of ‘calimas'

Áilín Quinlan asks three couples to share the story of how they met and their secrets to a happy relationship

The farmer who dropped by to give unasked-for advice to my friend and his wife clearing their newly bought quarter of an acre of long, abandoned terraces on a steep slope on the island of La Gomera in the Canaries was unequivocal: “Cut it down!”

On the face of things, the similarities are unavoidable.

Yesterday evening, when we went to ‘our village’ in the Valley of the Great King on the island of La Gomera in the Canaries, we saw an owl in the first hour of darkness, and it was heartening to know that such things hadn’t changed.

Ciara McDonnell shares seven of the best places to ring in the new year abroad.

Among Ireland’s renowned explorers, of whom there are many, one name stands out. Shackleton and Crean (Antarctic voyages), Robert O’Hara Burke (first to cross the Australian Outback) and many others achieved monumental feats of discovery but it is the figure of the fifth century St Brendan who is the true torchbearer for Irish adventure.

John Fogarty speaks to former RTÉ head of sport and managing director Glen Killane about the future of Gaelic games broadcasting

For top-class food and drink, and also for its otherworldly beauty, it’s well worth making the connection to La Palma in the Canaries, writes Sam Boland.

The airport will be a hive of activity this Easter holiday weekend.

I don’t know why we bothered to go to the Med for part of the winter when we could have been sunbathing in Ireland, at least up to two weeks ago. Now, we hear that there was snow in Killarney yesterday.

I’ve set about exploring the fauna of the island. Species are few compared to Ireland but, as always with wild things, be they plants by the wayside, birds in the sky, fish in the sea, or

The Department of Foreign Affairs is contacting British authorities after fears were raised that submarines using sonar may have caused the deaths of a record number of Cuvier’s beaked whales off the Irish coast.

Buzzards are returnees. Extinct in the late 1800s, they slowly began recolonisation in the 1930s, writes Damien Enright

The owners of Rocinante, a 17m long ketch, asking price €50,000, are a rum crew, with a story behind them, writes Damien Enright.

The ravens have built their nest at their traditional site at Coomalacha, on the Seven Heads in West Cork, as they do every year. I’m glad to hear this, writes Damien Enright.

My column of February 26 explained that a unique charm of the Valle Gran Rey on the island of La Gomera in the Canaries is the laid-back “vibe” left over from the first hippies that arrived here, Vietnam War draft dodgers in the late 1950s.

Given his surname and upbringing — on a tiny island of fewer than 600 people in Norway — on first glance it seems unlikely that Thomas Westgaard would be competing for Ireland in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Up to 20,000 Cory’s Shearwaters, oceanic birds with 1.25m wingspans, were breed on the Selvagem Islands, 280 km south of Madeira. Big, meaty birds, the squabs were traditionally harvested and salted for food. Monks on Skellig Michael similarly harvested gannet squabs from Small Skellig, writes Damien Enright

Hola. I have started going out with this Irish guy at work, he is very nice. The only problem is, his breath smells so bad that his friends call him Carrigaline. (I didn’t understand this at first. Then I went to  Carrigaline.)

A Port of Cork company’s five-year plan to expand its cruise liner trade is ahead of schedule with a record-breaking number of luxury passenger ships due next year.

Flatulence is just as common in marine mammals as in humans and terrestrial animals, writes Damien Enright

Having his shoes catch fire is just one of the occupational hazards West Cork-based artist Danny Osborne faces when working on the side of live volcanoes, writes Ellie O’Byrne

Two full-time working men finished in the top 30 at the An Post Rás last Sunday and not a single full-time cyclist finished in the bottom 30.

Shares in Thomas Cook plunged 19% yesterday as it said its summer bookings fell as security concerns meant more holidaymakers opted for breaks in Spain over Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt, outstripping its efforts to adjust flights.

If Irish walkers keep coming to La Gomera in the numbers that arrived with the Bishopstown Hillwalking Club this week, they’ll wear down the paths and stone-made steps climbing the mountains out of the fecund valleys, routes laid down hundreds of years ago.

Got an issue? Ask Audrey..

Six months after the attacks, Tunisia is trying to rebuild its broken tourist industry, says Eoghan Corry.

It is heartening to learn that young people, encouraged by their mentors, are taking arms against the seas of litter despoiling Ireland, writes Damien Enright

Aer Lingus is to double its services from Cork to Tenerife for the upcoming winter season.

Stena Line have launched a €6 per person return day trip to Wales, travelling every Tuesday from Dublin Port.

I arrive back from the Canary Islands, with a brief stop-over in London, and have messages on my telephone which make me wonder if there is more exotic wildlife to be seen in West Cork than in many far-flung places.

Barbara Scully discovered the wonders of a charming Atlantic outpost designed for relaxation.