Photo of A woodland tangle on Courtown Beach after Storm Chandra by Mick O Callaghan   I drove down to the Burrow Car Park in Courtown and parked my car, laced up my strong walking boots and headed for a beach and forest walk . I walked over The Burrow or White Gates Bridge which was the Earl of Courtown’s private entrance to the beach. I turned right and onto the forest path and right again over the little foot bridge while viewing widespread desolation caused by trees and

Photo of the entrance to The Souteraine in Courtown Woods by Mick O Callaghan  I am lucky to live close to Courtown woods and beach. It is fantastic to be able to ramble freely in this majestic area with its well maintained paths and trails, . My most frequent rambles are in the 25-hectare woods which date back to the 12th century. This forested area has had a very chequered history since then with many owners until they were acquired by the state in 1950.They are a real trea

Thoughts for 2026 Image of the two faced Roman god Janus   I hope you have all recovered from the Christmas festivities and New Year celebrations as we head into a brand-new year with the welcome stretch in the day. My grandmother told us annually about the cock’s step or céim an choilligh, of 4 minutes extended daylight from the winter solstice on December 21 st.  The myth that there was a stretch of 4 minutes each day in daylight hours was not quite accurate. Ac

Photo by Mick O Callaghan of the back cover of Cinderella 2026 programme  We attended the annual Panto in Gorey Little Theatre last Monday January 12th. Before our attendance we had heard only positive comments about it from family and friends. We arrived early and were really impressed with the courtesy of the front of house people, welcoming us, selling raffle tickets, and showing us to our seats. We read through the programme and familiarised ourselves with the cast. As