The Sheep’s Head Peninsula might not have the same profile as the Beara Peninsula or the Ring of Kerry, but it’s a stunning piece of the country that has an island-like existence — sticking out into the Atlantic Ocean like a microcosm of all that’s best about the coastal beauty of Ireland.

A West Cork town is under a virtual siege from the invasive Japanese knotweed, a plant which can destroy buildings.

Ahakista, West Cork €1.2 million-plus

SEAWEED conjures up stories of a good day at the beach ruined by an encounter with slimy, smelly sea vegetation.

A cross between orienteering, treasure-hunting and tourism, geocaching can, paradoxically, get both children and adults away from the computer screen and out into the real world, writes Conor Power.

It may have been nervous relief, but John Murphy saw a funny side to the near-death experience he endured after being hit by a giant wave near Bantry Bay.

Now you see me, now you don’t — what photographer Adrian Cronin witnessed on the battered shores of Bantry Bay was like a scene from tsunami drama The Impossible, a scene replicated around a storm-clobbered coast.

WHEN it comes to the issue of fuel stations that serve the motorist in Ireland, our progress seems to be going in a distinctly negative direction in recent years.

The population has risen since 2008. Immigrants love our character and way of life, says Conor Power

Self-help groups are taking root all over the country. Dan MacCarthy rolls up his sleeves with one in West Cork

IT’S heart-lifting to see so many people back in their vegetable gardens again.

IN a romantic setting in West Cork, Blair’s Cove House and Restaurant has forged a strong reputation over the last 30 years.

LEFT Valentine’s Day a little late this year?

THE daughter of an air hostess killed in the Air India bombing off west Cork in 1985 was among 40 relatives of victims attending the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony yesterday.

Relatives of 329 people killed in the Air India bombing off the south-west coast of Ireland were gathering today to mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

IT’S on the quieter, northern side of the Sheep’s Head Peninsula and for any artists/writers out there, this is the place for solitude.

A HOLLYWOOD heartthrob and internationally-known comedian are set to attract huge crowds to two community events in west Cork tomorrow night.

This farmhouse at Ballyroon, Kilcrohane, stands on 0.75 acres on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula.

LONG-DISTANCE farming wasn’t what Bernadette and Gerald Sheehan had in mind when they bought 160 acres of land in coastal west Cork 10 years ago.

A 66-acre property is bucking the trend and drawing interest on all fronts, writes Rose Martin.

THE people of Cork and the small peninsula community in West Cork that comforted the families and friends of the Air India disaster, at the time of the tragedy and during the sad pilgrimages over the past two decades, were thanked yesterday.

ONE of the most remote and sparsely populated areas of West Cork, and arguably one of its best kept secrets, is the Sheep’s Head Peninsula.