The son of one of the 50 people who died in the Whiddy Island disaster has had a meeting with high ranking gardai, claiming Ireland's maritime safety structures are "fundamentally broken".

We take a trip down memory lane and check out what happened on this day in years gone by by looking back at some Irish Examiner front pages and highlighting other events which went down in history across the world.

As an introduction to our islands, this heritage week programme has a selection of lovely islands and a wide range of activities to entice you.

The relatives of 50 persons who died in the Whiddy Island Disaster are applying to the High Court for rectification of the victims’ death certificates.

As well as being a much- appreciated opportunity for rural communities to see professional theatre in their locales, the West Cork Fit-Up Festival gives much needed work to actors during the summer months.

Meet Tim O’Leary from Whiddy Island: He’s the local ferryman, postman, farmer and publican.

From a distance, the standout feature on this lacustrine island in Lady’s Island Lake, Co Wexford, is of a solitary Monterey pine tree which dominates the character of the island.

The organiser of the recent 40th anniversary commemoration of the Whiddy island disaster is expecting a response from the Taoiseach after concerns about marine safety were passed directly to Leo Varadkar.

One of the more surprising facts about Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay is the size of its population in the 19th century.

Profits at the Port of Cork fell by 22% last year to €4.1 million as a result of a sharp drop in traffic at its facilities in both Cork and Bantry.

Sunshine giving you that festival buzz? We've got the ultimate guide to some of the best festivals around!

A Californian student at University College Cork will help remember the arrival of the US navy in Ireland — 100 years to the day after her great-grandfather commanded the flotilla that sailed into Cork harbour.

Sean O’Riordan explores the arrival of American navy fleets in Cork Harbour during the First World War and their subsequent impact on the local infrastructure, economy, and society.

This ‘Home of the Year’ contender in West Cork is in ship-shape for a lively buyer, writes Tommy Barker.

Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer has written a play based on his oldest friend’s diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, writes Colette Sheridan

Talk about putting the WOW! into the WAW, Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.

An ocean version of the highly successful community bike-rental scheme — but using kayaks — is being planned for the seven inhabited islands of West Cork.

Is the Wild Atlantic Way holding sway over Bantry town, lifting its hotels before it? The selling agents of the Maritime Hotel, developed at a reported cost of €30m and now offered at just €1.5m, expect so, such is the pace of change on the West Cork town’s accommodation front.

A network of water trails has been developed off the south coast to boost marine leisure activity.

Here’s a round up of some of the best festival line-up’s country-wide, from Ailin Quinlan.

Sue Leonard meets Tosh Lavery, who was one of the first recruits to the Garda Sub-Aqua team and whose eventful life and times he has recorded in a new memoir. 

Agreement has been reached to sell the Whiddy Island oil terminal in Bantry, which holds a third of Ireland’s strategic oil reserves, to the US startup, Zenith Energy.

It’s a logistical nightmare but the West Cork Fit-Up Theatre Festival plays venues others just don’t reach, writes

An island community has honoured a young US First World War airman who died in a plane crash off the south coast while returning from a dangerous anti submarine patrol.

Bantry to Drumclough loop of the Sheep’s Head Way

ARRIVING on the riverside pathway, we are immediately removed from the bustle of the town. Here, the Bandon is a broad, slow-flowing river.

There are times in The Menu’s life when a prolonged sojourn in Sheep’s Head is the only repair for his poor benighted soul.

In the last 30 years we’ve had a plethora of tribunals, commissions, investigations and reports, so many in fact it is hard to understand why we do not live in a perfect society.

WHIDDY ISLAND WALK, WEST CORK

As the Ballydehob-based Fit-Up Theatre Festival gets ready to visit local towns and islands, Louise Roseingrave hears about the genesis of Ireland’s most unique - and lengthy - theatre festival.