When the mood takes me, I’ll often head back to the Atlantic Ocean in west Clare for a dip. Living so close to the sea gives me that luxury and I have any amount of options; the Pollock Holes in Kilkee, Cappa near Kilrush, White Strand in Doonbeg, Spanish Point in Miltown Malbay. Beautiful spots, every one of them.

DNA samples have been requested from several locals in south Kerry as part of a renewed inquiry into the death of the ‘Kerry Baby’, also known as Baby John.

An environmentalist has secured leave from the High Court to mount a legal challenge to the planning permission granted to build a sea wall at Donald Trump's golf club at Doonbeg in Co Clare.

A prayer was offered at weekend Masses in Caherciveen for the infant Baby John and for his family, amid a new inquiry into what was a traumatic event in a South Kerry community over 30 years ago.

Reports of secret relationships and long-hidden affairs are being recalled in Co Kerry as a result of the renewed investigation into the death of the baby found stabbed on a beach near Caherciveen in 1984.

There are fears that the headstone of the murdered Kerry baby may be vandalised

The depth of rage that swept over me this week after gardaí apologised to the woman at the centre of the Kerry Babies tribunal, one of the most shameful episodes in recent Irish legal history, can’t be adequately described, writes Clodagh Finn.

Gardaí have issued an apology to the woman at the centre of the Kerry babies scandal, admitting for the first time that the original investigation was substandard.

Latest: Gardaí have confirmed a DNA profile has conclusively stated Joanne Hayes is not Baby John’s mother.

Thirty-three years after gardaí failed to discover the killer and mother of a baby boy, the investigation is to be reactivated, writes Donal Hickey.

A garda review of the death of a baby whose murder is bound forever to one of the most divisive sagas in modern Irish history gets under way today.

Many of us tend to idealise life beside the ocean and imagine balmy summer evenings with the sea gently lapping nearby and a glorious sunset emblazoned on the sky, writes Dan MacCarthy.

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

Environmental champions who have changed the toilet- flushing habits of hundreds of people and improved water quality in a scenic bay have been honoured for protecting the Irish coastline.

The 16-day excavation for the remains Charles Brooke Pickard in south Kerry ended on Friday without result — but the investigation is continuing.

Gardaí and Crimestoppers have renewed their appeal for information on the abduction and disappearance of an Englishman 25 years ago.

Just beyond the breaking surf at the White Strand on the Great Blasket island, seals were standing up in the water to get a better look at us humans. 

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.

A father-of-three is the latest diver to lose his life after getting into difficulty off the coast of Donegal.

The solicitor who represented the woman at the centre of the Kerry Babies case has said that there is no need to exhume the bodies of the babies for DNA analysis.

A number of the country’s best known beaches are expected to lose their Blue Flag status as a result of the devastation caused by recent storms.

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.

Despite having excellent water quality, two beaches failed to get Blue Flags for 2013 — because of a mathematical anomaly.

It sounds like a typical Irish conundrum — a beach that fails to achieve blue flag status because its water is too clear.

Kerry County Council is continuing to monitor beaches where samples showed higher than acceptable levels of E.coli in the water during the summer.

Trish Dromey finds a house on the Ring of Kerry within minutes of the beach and Caherdaniel

It might not be the weather for stripping off, but hundreds splashed about in the sea yesterday to raise funds to fight cancer and remember loved ones.

Two of the country’s 135 premier bathing spots have failed to meet basic water cleanliness standards.

Two beaches fell below minimum hygiene standards for swimmers in the latest study of the country’s bathing areas.

GOING on a weekend break with a surfer, a toddler and a bump takes a special kind of optimism.

THE west Clare area is set for a major “surf” dividend with a two day surf and music festival over the June bank-holiday weekend.

Gardaí are treating the deaths of two sisters whose bodies were found on a beach as a tragic accident.

GARDAÍ are investigating the discovery of the bodies of two middle-aged women on a Co Clare beach yesterday.

Rose Martin finds a bungalow with lots of cachet near an Iron Age site.

Donal Hickey says the tide is washing up rare fish

THE woman at the centre of the Kerry Babies Tribunal more than 20 years ago has pleaded with promoters planning to make two films about the controversy to desist.

THE Irish have taken over as the strongest buyers of quality Irish seaside home. No longer do they go almost automatically to overseas buyers.

A key figure at the Morris tribunal today demanded to examine Garda records in the Kerry Babies case.

GARDAÍ in Kerry are investigating an attack on a black marble stone placed at the grave of the infamous Kerry baby.

IN your report on Ireland’s Blue Flag beaches (Irish Examiner, June 6), Garrettstown is referred to as having Blue Flag status.

Two former detectives today told the Morris Tribunal into Garda corruption of their doubts over the veracity of information relayed to the force in Co Donegal by alleged IRA insider Adrienne McGlinchey during the 1990s.