Special place in west Cork is just right for a quick dip in the ocean

BACK during the Cold War period, senior members of the Swiss government bought a west Cork bolt-hole at Liss Ard, near Tragumna.

They reckoned that, what with prevailing westerlies, the location on the sea side of Skibbereen was among the safest settings in western European, if a nuclear bomb ever chanced the Continent’s way.

While LissArd had some grandeur, one of those behind the Swiss government’s fallback position also picked up a waterfront, modest traditional cottage, Murphy’s Cove, into the bargain.