#coastalnotes – Following on from Winkie Nixon's blog a fortnight ago about the Sailing and boating wonders of West Cork, here's a selection of aerial views from the Baltimore Beacon to Mizen Head taking in Lough Hyne, Ballydehob, Foil na…

#MarineWildlife - Check out this wonderful video captured by the Irish Air Corps earlier this week featuring the uncommon sight of a fin whale breaching some 150 miles off Mizen Head in West Cork. Fin whales, the second largest of…

#MarineScience - Research funding of some €96,000 has been awarded to NUI Galway to study the marine environment of Galway Bay - and what that information can mean for those who live around it. As the Galway Advertiser reported earlier…

#MarineWildlife - Though the winter months comprise Ireland's major whale-watching season, this time of year brings more people to the coasts to witness Ireland's bounty of marine wildlife. And if you're not sure where to look, BreakingNews.ie has a guide…

#terns – 2014 has been the best breeding year on record for one of Ireland's rarest seabirds, the little tern. The County Wicklow birds are protected and enjoy 24–hour monitoring because for many years they were a species on the…

#sunprotection – Sailors and boaters are constantly outdoors pursuing their sport, so it is essential they are aware of the great increase in melanoma and skin cancer due to exposure to the sun's radiation. They need to taking the most…

#MarineWildlife - Northern Ireland's National Marine Week kicks off today (Saturday 26 July) with a 'rockpool ramble' at Groomsport in Co Down, the first in a series of marine wildlife themed events around the coast till 10 August. Ulster Wildlife’s…

#scatteryisland  Brian Ború's 10th century invasion of the monastic settlement of Scattery Island in County Clare and the subsequent killing of the Viking King of Limerick and his two sons will be recreated this weekend. The Scattery Island Festival, which…

#IslandNews - Could Star Wars be coming to the Skelligs? According to some reports, the 'Force' is with the Co Kerry islands - specifically Skellig Michael. The Daily Edge has confirmed with the Office of Public Works that a film…

#clareisland – Buoyed by the recent profile received by Clare Island in the Irish Times Best Place to Go Wild in Ireland competition, Clare Island Adventures are planning an exciting new event for the August Bank Holiday weekend. Your mission,…

#Weather - While Britain faces a heatwave with temperatures in excess of 30 degrees, thanks to a 'Spanish plume' of hot air sweeping up from Southern Europe today (17 July), only Ireland's south is expected to see the mercury rise…

#Tourism - A Baltimore maritime group says Fáilte Ireland's commitment to coastal tourism "rings very hollow" in light of its proposed sale of the former Glenans sail training school premises in the West Cork town. Last September Afloat.ie reported on…

#MarineWildlife - Dusty the dolphin has found a new home at Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands, prompting a local campaign to warn locals and visitors alike of the potential dangers of swimming with the unpredictable cetacean. Previously known as…

#Oil - Delays in the refurbishing of the Blackford Dolphin oil rig have prompted Providence Resources to push back their appraisal drilling on Spanish Point till 2015, as Business & Leadership reports. The Irish oil and gas firm was granted…

#OceanEnergy - A University College Cork project to investigate "nonlinear wave-current interactions in the nearshore" for the development of Ireland's ocean energy industry has been awarded a research grant worth more than half a million euro by Science Foundation Ireland…

#MarineWildlife - Two of the stranded pilot whales at Falcarragh in Co Donegal have been refloated by locals against advice to leave them alone to die naturally. According to RTÉ News, the public was warned away from the strand -…