West Cork Tourism began their campaign at the beginning of the year and raised €2.6m to get the Cork to Swansea route back up and running. Finnish bank Aktia Bank and its finance company, Aktia Yritysrahoitus Oy, has supported the acquisition through the provision of a loan of €6.3 million.

The Julia was built in 1982 and has sailed several routes in the Scandinavian Peninsula since then. The vessel has 10 decks with maximum capacity for approximately 440 cars and 30 freight vehicles and the total passenger capacity of the vessel is 1,860. The Julia has a fine array of restaurants and bars, a childrens’ play area and a cinema, as well as over 300 passenger cabins, rendering her particularly suited to the night crossing between Cork and Swansea.

The Julia will commence service on the Cork to Swansea route in March 2010 and expects to enjoy strong demand from both tourist and freight customers. Fastnet Line believes that it will contribute greatly to the development and promotion of tourism in Cork, Kerry and surrounding areas, bringing thousands of tourists directly to the region annually, and will also contribute to the development of Irish tourism into Wales. In addition, Fastnet Line will provide hauliers operating in Ireland and the UK with a viable sea crossing alternative for freight activity between the regions, potentially reducing round trip road journeys by over 600km.

Funding of €2.5 million is now required in addition to the balance of funds raised still held by the Co-Op to fund the working capital requirements of the business and to facilitate the development of the infrastructure of the organisation in the period prior to and after launch in March 2010. In that regard, there are now opportunities to invest both in the Co-Op and in Fastnet Line. The Co-Op will be arranging a series of roadshows in the coming weeks to brief members and prospective new members on its plans.

Commenting on the acquisition, Conor Buckley, Chairman of the Co-Op, said “We are delighted to be in the position to officially announce the purchase of The Julia and the commencement of the Cork to Swansea route in Spring of next year. The coming weeks and months will continue to be crucial to us to gain the working capital to aid the development of the organisation so we are looking forward to meeting with potential investors from all over the South West Region and beyond.”

Investors are being offered the opportunity to participate in what the Co-Op believes will be a key business in the Cork and Swansea regions for the long term. A business which will bring rewards to its stakeholders not only in financial terms, but also in terms of bringing business to the regions it serves.

Being based in Skibbereen in West Cork we have seen the importance of this vital piece of social infrastructure first hand in the past few months.

There are two key communications resources that really matter in West Cork and ‘West Cork today’ is one of them along with the Southern Star. Two initiatives that I have watched closely in the past months have been the launch of SAREN and the  creation of the West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Ltd to buy a ferry and relaunch the Cork-Swansea Ferry.

I contend strongly that without these two communication resources, the success of these initiatives would not have been achieved.
With their  help, the people and businesses of West Cork could not have missed the key messages of both initiatives.

These are just 2 of the countless examples of how these resources are a vital element of the social fabric of the region. The Southern Star will continue to be an integral part of West Cork but it is a weekly publication and, for the elderly in particular,  the West Cork Today show was their daily interaction with what was going on in their areas.

This petition by SAREN is only step 1.
If the decision is not reversed they should be calling on the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to review the license that was rewarded to UTV Media for the West Cork station. It is not enough to have a mast broadcasting a signal in West Cork and have all the programming homogenised across the county. Surely the reason for a broadcasting license for West Cork was that it would serve a public interest in West Cork?

Read more on the http://www.skibbereen.ie website or sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/westcorktoday/

West Cork is now recognised as one of the best places in Europe to go whale watching and sometimes they come so close to the shore that it is not even necessary to go out in a boat. From the kitchen window at home, near the village of Castletownshend in West Cork, I have seen a pod of more than 20 fin whales (the second largest animal ever to live on this planet) less than a mile from the shore. They stayed there for a couple of weeks feeding on sprat before moving on. Fin whales are most commonly seen between August and December. Minke whales are also common and even the occasional humpback whale.

Dolphins too are a common sight off the Irish coast. One evening a couple of years ago we headed out from the fishing village of Baltimore with the hope of seeing some. We didn’t have to go far and when they saw us coming they came to meet us. Far from being scared of the boat they came right up to it to play in the waves alongside us. A school of about a hundred dolphins so close to us that we could hear their high-pitched squeaking.

Shark are also plentiful a bit further offshore with a variety of species including blue shark, basking shark and the occasional six-gilled shark. One summer out in a small boat in Castletownshend harbour we came across a massive basking shark, bigger than our boat which it decided to swim around. A slightly scary experience because although the shark was completely harmless we were worried that it would tip the boat and we’d all end up joining it in the water.

Charter a boat from one of the many fishing villages in West Cork including Castletownbere, Baltimore, Courtmacsherry, Kinsale, Glandore or Union Hall
and spend a day shark fishing. One of the biggest fish ever caught off the Irish Coast was a 315 lb six-gilled shark caught off Baltimore. Hooked by my cousin Stefano off my fathers boat, the shark weighed twice the Irish record but unfortuately could not be claimed as a record. After more than an hour of trying to land the massive six-gilled Stefano had to hand the rod over to another angler and a record cannot be claimed if the rod is handled by more than one person.

Cork airport has a brand new airport terminal building. It is bright, modern and airy and you will find your way very easily through it. The airport is situated only ten minutes from Cork city centre. There are buses and taxis right outside the terminal. Cork city itself is a nice destination for a city break or long weekend. Cork airport is also the ideal base to start a trip along the Irish West Coast. In two hours driving, you can reach the famous Ring of Kerry and Killarney Town.

More and more airlines have opened routes to and from Cork. The city is connected to many big European cities. If you have an early morning flight, you can stay in one of the two airport hotels, the Radisson SAS Cork Airport and Cork International Airport Hotel, both situated five minutes walking distance from the terminal. Within the terminal, there is a good choice of facilities to eat and shop.

For a relaxing beginning and end to your holiday or short break you couldn’t find a more convenient and stress free airport. So why don’t come and see yourself.