From the shore at Quilty in Co Clare, Mutton Island looks a flat, unappealing line. Great as a place to land if your boat is in trouble, but to visit there looks uninspiring.

The Coast Guard have rescued an injured fisherman from a fishing trawler nearly 300 kilometres off the west coast.

The North's only representative in the search for The Restaurants Association of Ireland's Foodie Destination of the Year received a massive shot in the arm recently with ringing endorsements from a multi award winning Michelin starred chef and a Coronation Street favourite.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) will host its annual All Island Whale Watch at 20 headlands around the Irish coast today.

A farmer, in a foul-mouthed and rambling rant, told another farmer he would throw him under a tractor after a “run-in” on a country road.

Star Wars is here, with the massive production now shooting at locations around Ireland.

A young Donegal entrepreneur is feeling the Force after being swamped with requests for his custom-made Star Wars t-shirts.

Stars Wars fans hoping to get a sneak preview of the filming of the Hollywood blockbuster in Donegal, Kerry, and Cork have been brought back down to earth.

A man has been airlifted to hospital after he was pulled from the sea by a group of kayakers in Co Clare this morning.

The sound of crashing waves is the norm for Valentia Island off south Kerry and Loop Head off west Clare, where lighthouses guide mariners to safe havens.

A major multi-agency search and rescue operation was mounted yesterday after a man was reported to be in a distressed state on a cliff in Co Clare.

From the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher, Tony Clayton-Lea is stone mad for the charms of Co Clare.

Clare County Council yesterday announced a comprehensive plan relating to the tourism development and visitor management of the “Jewel of The Lough Derg” in Co Clare, Holy Island.

Ever wanted to stay in a lighthouse, to hear the waves crash around you and wake up to stunning views?

West Cork tourism businesses will be hoping to learn from the experiences of a group in Co Clare who secured an accolade of ‘best place to holiday’ in Ireland.

Tales of ghost ships and a hidden city are among a wealth of folklore explored by a pioneering heritage trail in a spectacular part of Clare which could provide a template for a series of walking routes along the Wild Atlantic Way.

Families are facing the prospect of priests no longer officiating at the graves of loved ones at funerals in one Catholic diocese.

Clare County Council has revised upwards its flood repair bill by 55% to €36.8m as a result of further damage brought about by the recent storms.

Thousands have been left without power, roads have been ripped up and isolated homes have been cut off from the mainland after storms ravaged the country.

Many parts of the country are counting the cost of weeks of stormy weather, but Met Éireann has said the worst is over.

Protection of dolphins and other wildlife was among the key conditions under which planning permission was recently granted for a combined heat and power plant on the Shannon Estuary.

An EU think-tank begins in West Cork today on how the region and other tourism hot spots can best promote themselves as “must see” destinations on the international stage.

Family-run Wild Irish Sea Veg is tapping into consumers’ growing taste for seaweed and after bagging a deal with a NY deli and aiming to grow sales to Britain and beyond, there’s no limit to the company’s ambitions, writes Trish Dromey

“In a way, I feel I have come home here to Loop Head.”

CLARE County Council has confirmed plans to extend the visitor access to the Loop Head Lighthouse until October following a massive response to its recent opening to the public.

THE Government Learjet was deployed in its first “top-cover” role yesterday when it was sent to assist the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter in a medical evacuation (medivac) mission off the Clare coast.

THE four main local authorities in the midwest are coming together to harness the potential of the Shannon estuary and to identify sites for future development.

THE decision to open Loop Head Lighthouse to members of the public has led to a boost for the tourism sector in West Clare, it emerged yesterday.

THE doors of the Loop Head lighthouse overlooking the Atlantic in west Clare were opened to the public yesterday for the first time — 341 years after the first lighthouse was built.

Rescuers searching for a man swept out to sea in West Clare have recovered a body this afternoon.

A naval vessel has been dispatched to the west coast to provide emergency search and rescue cover.

THE Naval Vessel LÉ Aoife has taken an Irish fishing vessel, the Ocean Venture, in tow after its propeller got fouled during a routine boarding operation. The incident took place at 11.20am yesterday about 90 nautical miles west of Loop Head in west Clare.

There is severe disruption to water supplies around the country this evening as reservoirs remain depleted following the severe cold snap, while heavy rain and high tides have also led to flooding in areas of Munster.

A LITTLE over a week ago, Stewart Cink felt the urge to tell the world about his Doonbeg golf experience.

A PENSIONER and a predator have between them established what could be an Irish record.

Ten people have been dramatically rescued from a sinking fishing trawler off the west coast this morning.

Eighteen crew members from a French trawler have been rescued off the coast of Co Kerry.

A FREAK WAVE seriously damaged a boathouse used by Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue Service and dampened the group’s 21st birthday celebrations.

A RUSSIAN man who sailed for up to five weeks around the Atlantic on a stolen yacht has applied for asylum after being rescued off the Irish coast.

THE DAILY mantra of “occasional showers, some heavy’’ heard on the weather forecast most days in mid and late October turned out to be joined-up downpours, relieved only by brief intervals when clouds like lead barrage balloons lowered overhead, promising yet more rain.

A young Lithuanian man has reportedly died after falling from a cliff at Loop Head in Co Clare yesterday evening.

YOU can’t get further west in Co Clare than Pilot Hill.

A search is continuing today off the Co Clare coast for a Spanish fisherman who fell overboard from a fishing vessel late last night.