West Cork Enterprise Board Funding 2006

I have just had a browse through the West Cork Enterprise Boards 2006 annual review to see what its objectives are. It aims to increase the number of viable jobs through the region, ie it supports rural development and local entrepreneurship. In 2006 the board provided financial assistance totalling euro 260,000 including 8 employment grants, 6 capital aid projects and 3 feasibility studies.

Financial assistance was approved in support of 3 childcare facilities, 4 food processing projects, 6 other manufacturing and local service projects and 3 feasibility study projects. The majority of financial assistance went to manufacturing projects (10 in total) with particular emphasis on the development of food and craft sectors.

12 of the 17 projects were new start ups and the majority of businesses were located in the Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Beara areas.

The companies that qualified for capital approvals in 2006 included

• Callatrim Foods
• Sandy Miller Collection Ltd
• Spice o’ Life Ltd
• JustSay3D.com
• Glennilen Dariy Products
• Rock Water Stables.

Employment approval grants went to the following:-

• Sharon Rose Designs
• Delisa Handcrafted Jewellery
• Michelle and Moz Playschool and Creche
• Caroline Murphy
• Clavin and Brophy Ltd
• Mellas Fudge
• Wendy House Creche
• Mairi Dadson

and lastly feasibility approvals went to

• Bigtoe3D
• Waveson Ltd
• Printed Textile Designers

Ballyvolane Country House

I had the good fortune to attend an informal lunch at Ballyvolane Country House in Castlelyons near Fermoy. What a magical place. The house was originally built in 1728 in the georgian country house style with three storeys. The top floor was removed in 1847 to create a two storey house with an extensive west end wing. The Greens have lived here since 1955 and run it as a successful country house guest house.

The gardens around the house include a mixture of deciduous trees, shrubs, both formal and informal areas and a large walled garden with copious amounts of vegetables all planted very neatly. Apparently it takes 9 hours to mow the lawn around the house and the croquet lawn looks absolutely perfect without a hump or bump in site. The garden at this time of year is a dream with bluebells throughout the woods and Rhododendrons, azaleas etc all in full bloom.

For anybody who feels like a quiet country break near the Blackwater, this is the place to stay.

1001 Historic Sites you must see before you die

A new book entitled 1001 historic sites you must see before you die includes 16 sites in Ireland. These sites were selected by hundreds of travel journalists across the globe. The book is compiled by Englishman Richard Cavendish and is part of a bestselling “1001″ series

The sites in Ireland are as follows:-

• Blarney Castle, Co Cork
• Clonmacnoise, Co Offaly
• Derry town walls, Derry
• Dublin Castle
• GPO, Dublin
• Grave of WB Yeats, Drumcliff, Sligo
• Guinness Brewery, Dublin
• Hill of Tara, Co Meath
• Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown, Co Kilkenny
• Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
• Newgrange, near Drogheda, Co Meath,
• Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery
• Oscar Wilde’s House, Dublin
• Prospect Cemetery, Dublin
• Rock of Cashel, Co Tipperary
• Trinity College, Dublin