Dormer in the centre of its own universe

DEPENDING on your point of view, Arlinstown, Ballinhassig, is either the middle of nowhere, or the centre of a small universe.

As a parish southwest of Cork city, Ballinhassig is itself so sprawling that it takes in three churches, and stretches through a hinterland almost from Bishopstown as far as Kinsale and Innishannon.

Arlinstown is one of the many low-key townlands in its midst, a couple of miles from Riverstick and Ballinhassig village, within a 10-minute drive to Kinsale and Carrigaline and 20 minutes from Cork city.