Fine catch at Galley Head

West Cork land in a stunning location will draw international interest as well as local, writes Tommy Barker

Thirty coastal acres on a scenic West Cork peninsula, noted for its whale, boat and bird-watching, are being sold on behalf of NAMA. Local sources say the land was bought some years ago by now-distressed developer Joe O’Donovan, who had acquired the Wilton Shopping Centre among a raft of investments and sites over the past decade. O’Donovan has close family links and roots here at Clonakilty’s spectacular Galley Head.

The 30 elevated acres now being off-loaded by a bank and NAMA include the remains of a former coastguard station and a rocket signalling station. It runs down through a bracken path to the sea at Dirk Cove, where there’s a small sheltered slipway and a couple of boat moorings facing the clear waters of the Red Strand, with the treacherous Black Rock in the bay.