Getting the timing right for a bargain in West Cork

ONE day you’re a rock ‘head’, the next you’re a chippie in a hard hat.

Former drummer, musician and singer Rob McKahey drove the beat with iconoclastic 1980s bands Microdisney and Stump, but when it came time to put down roots, he got more accustomed to the sound of a hammer driving home nails.

The bands were top Indie bands of their time, and now the hills around Gearagh, Rossmore, Clonakilty, are ringing with the sound of silence rather than hammering: this quiet rural spot even has a 30-acre preserved marsh across the road for green credentials.