The feast of St. Michael the Archangel falls on September 29. In the old Irish tradition, Michaelmas was known as ‘Fómhar na nGéanna’ – the goose harvest. Geese, hatched out in spring, were left outside all through the summer in what can only be called truly free range and organic! […]
History
Pádraig Fhia Ó Mathúna (Patrick Mahony) is a researcher on the Fionn Folklore Project. He was a columnist with the West Cork People for several years. We have probably all heard the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill’s pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne. It is one of the most well-known episodes […]
On May 24, 1923, IRA Chief-of-Staff Frank Aiken issued an order to all fighters to cease fire. As we mark the centenary of the end of the Irish Civil War, Pauline Murphy looks at how those fighting on the anti-Treaty side of the bitter conflict did not have quite the […]
The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Danny Collins has officially launched a new guide map highlighting the rich and unique archaeological heritage of the West Cork countryside. The ‘101 Archaeological Sites to Visit in West Cork’ guide map features well-known monuments such as Drombeg Stone Circle, Timoleague Friary, […]
Holger Smyth, Inanna Rare Books, Skibbereen, revisits houses shown in the rare Hodges publication ‘Cork and County Cork in the Twentieth Century’. Episode 4: Garrettstown House, Ballinspittle / Kinsale. When you spend time in West Cork there is no escaping the remarkable history of the land in and around Kinsale. […]
Holger Smyth, Inanna Rare Books, Skibbereen, revisits houses shown in the rare Hodges publication ‘Cork and County Cork in the Twentieth Century’. Episode 3: Norton, Skibbereen, the home of solicitor and Teachta Dála, Jasper Travers Wolfe Norton, originally ‘Norton Cottage’, still towers prominently, overlooking the River Ilen and the West […]