Three popular beaches have been forced to lower their coveted Blue Flag.

THIS has been an intense year for West Cork musician Jessie Kennedy, writes Aisling Meath. 

The percentage of septic tanks in Cork failing inspections has increased this year, with the worst failure rate in the west of the county.

A mother wept yesterday as a jury returned a verdict of accidental death in an inquest into the death of her only child in a road crash in West Cork.

Tommy Barker says this holiday home in west Cork’s Owenahincha has its own unique charm and a wonderfully warming wood-burning stove.

There’s a lovely, aloof setting, high above the beach and dunes and developed strip of Owenahincha, at Dún an Óir, Gortnagrenane.

Heavy rain in the past few days has forced Cork County Council to put up “no swimming” notices at three popular beaches in West Cork.

Beaches and marinas across the country are bathing in the warm waters of European approval — 86 of them have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag status.

Priced within reach of first-time buyers at €95,000, Strand Cottage will have an obvious appeal to holiday-home hunters, given its setting, by a Blue Flag beach.

A late withdrawal from the National Indoor Championships, Ciarán Ó Lionaird reflects instead on the dunes of Owenahincha — and Tallahassee in Florida. 

Endurance swimmer Carmel Collins talks to us ahead of today’s International Ice Mile Swim in Lough Dan, Wicklow. Interview by Colm O’Connor.

Co Cork’s most senior engineer has warned that a number of projects earmarked by Irish Water to be completed by 2016 may not be done.

An old, stone wall which was part of the original Castlefreke estate of Lord Carbery bounds Cloonbeg, a four-bed home which is for sale in West Cork’s Rathbarry village.

Sq ft 2,500, 1,930

The transport minister will be advised that farmers are prepared to donate land to help upgrade a notoriously dangerous stretch of road in West Cork — which has claimed, among others, the life of an 8-year-old girl.

Heartbroken girls at Scoil Mháithair Dé in Abbeyfeale cried as a special prayer ceremony took place yesterday.

Ten thousand homes were affected by major disruption to the water supply on the northside of Cork City yesterday which forced the closure of at least one school.

Sq m: 300 (3,200 sq ft)

Met Éireann has warned of a major flooding risk both from expected stormy weather from Wednesday onwards and from heavy rainfall which will swell rivers already near capacity.

A music teacher who sexually assaulted three girls while playing “chase and tickle” during the summer holidays of 1996 was given a two-year jail sentence yesterday, but the judge said it should be suspended in its entirety.

A man who admitted playing a game of “chase and tickle” with young girls on a summer day in 1996 but denied any indecency has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three of the girls during the game.

As weather forecasts continue to suggest that 2013 will be the best summer the country has seen for years, four Irish Examiner writers profile their favourite beaches and hidden gems around the southern coastline.

In the glory days of the 70s and 80s Owenahincha was a buzzing holiday hotspot. Tommy Barker visits a very different place today, yet there may be signs of a brighter future for this faded beauty

West Cork €310,000

Cork County Council has defended the quality of its coastal bathing water, blaming a more stringent marking criteria and the wettest summer for 50 years on the loss of Blue Flag status on four beaches.

Cork, the country’s largest coastal county, has lost four of its blue flag beaches.

Ireland’s bathing water is of a high standard, despite the deluge of rain last summer when many areas recorded up to three times their expected levels.

The owner of an impounded chip van got a lucky break in court yesterday when a judge cleared him of a careless driving offence.

THE chips may be down but the owner of a mobile chipper has vowed to fight on after the authorities towed his van from a west Cork village.

SET just 100 yards from Owenahincha’s beaches in west Cork is the Sandycove Beach Villas scheme, built primarily for holiday home use, just across the road from a shingle beach with coveted Blue Flag status.

The number of Irish beaches securing coveted Blue Flag status has hit an all-time high.

THE clachan and baile fearann are terms continually tossed about when the subject of rural one-off housing comes up.

ACCORDING to Carmel O’Regan of Celtic Properties, the Cois Farraige scheme at Owenahincha, Co Cork, is a smashing, niche development that’s only 200 metres from the beach.

THIS one should get the juices flowing — a perfect second home in a perfect location.

THE bravery of two men who drowned while trying to rescue two swimmers in west Cork last year was recalled yesterday when they were posthumously honoured by the state organisation with responsibility for promoting water safety.

A YOUNG surfer was shocked to find he was the centre of a major search at the weekend, involving more than 50 members of the emergency services and an RAF helicopter.

FOR those of you who’ve taken that nice walk over the headland from Warren Strand to Owenahincha, the Cregane area of Roscarbery will be familiar. There, running down the hill on the Owenahincha side of the promentary are rows of holiday homes on two sides.

IF Clonakilty bills itself as the beach capital of west Cork, this Donour farmhouse is close to the centre of the action.

"HANG on to those, Gran. I’ll be back in a minute."

PARENTS have been warned that their children risk drowning if they are use rubber rings while swimming in the sea.

“NOT only did I lose my brother; I lost my best friend, my idol.”