Youghal

Book Launch to Raise Funds for the Mary Stanford Maintenance

A new local history publication, Cloyne in the Great War 1914–18, will be launched on Wednesday 11 February 2026 in the Library of the Garryvoe Hotel, marking the 90th anniversary of the Mary Stanford lifeboat rescue of the LV Comet.

The evening will combine the book launch, music, and a community gathering, with all proceeds from book sales donated to the ongoing maintenance of the historic Mary Stanford lifeboat, which is on permanent display overlooking Ballycotton.

Written by historian Gerry Kearney, the book documents the lives and service of 267 men and five women with links to the greater Cloyne parish including Ballycotton, Churchtown South, Cloyne, and Shanagarry who served during the First World War. Alongside military records, the book also records service in the Merchant Navy, Coastguard, Red Cross, and Lifeboat Services, offering a broader picture of life, loss, and resilience in the area during the war years.

The Mary Stanford story forms a strong local connection. Two men whose war service is recorded in the book, Patrick Patsy Sliney and Thomas Flavin Walsh, later served as crew of the Ballycotton lifeboat. On 11 February 1936, the seven man crew undertook one of the most daring rescues in RNLI history, saving the crew of the LV Comet at Daunt Rock. Today, the lifeboat stands as a symbol of courage, community, and service, and continues to require ongoing care and conservation.

The launch event begins with reception and refreshments from 7 p.m., with music on the night by The Rovers, who will perform, 'The Ballad of The Mary Stanford". The book will be available for purchase at the event and locally at the Ballymaloe Shop, Broderick’s Shop Shanagarry, Centra Cloyne, the Midleton Bookshop, and online via www.kennys.ie

This is a community event bringing together history, music, and local heritage while directly supporting the preservation of one of East Cork’s most important maritime landmarks. ... See MoreSee Less

RADIO DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE – THE BONES OF BRIGID

The Bones of Brigid, a new radio documentary by Orla Riordan, will be broadcast on Kfm this Monday, February 2nd at 6pm.

The documentary explores the fascinating legacy of Brigid as both saint and goddess, reflecting on how her timeless message of compassion and kindness continues to inspire today.

Featuring contributions from Mary Coughlan, Leo Varadkar, and others, the programme offers a thoughtful and uplifting celebration of Brigid’s enduring influence — a fitting tribute as we welcome the beginning of spring.

Production by Orla Riordan, with sound design by Steve Downing. ... See MoreSee Less

ST RAPHAELS JUNCTION – UPDATE (28 JANUARY 2026)

Works at St Raphaels Junction and along Golf Links Road in the vicinity of South Abbey NS are ongoing. Resurfacing and ramp installation have been hampered by recent poor weather conditions.

Weather permitting, RESURFACING, RAMP INSTALLATION, ROAD MARKINGS, SCHOOL ZONE TREATMENT AND ZEBRA CROSSING ACTIVATION OUTSIDE SOUTH ABBEY NS ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

The scheme has been designed in accordance with the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) and the Safe Routes to School Design Guide. The intent of this DMURS‑led design is to improve safety by managing vehicle speeds, providing appropriate road geometry and ensuring a more predictable environment for all users. The wider footpaths are intended to improve comfort for pedestrians – especially vulnerable users – provide additional separation from moving traffic and improve access to the school.

Once the school zone is completed, SET‑DOWN PARKING IMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL WILL BE DISCOURAGED AND “PARK AND STRIDE” WILL BE ENCOURAGED, in order to further improve safety in the vicinity of the school.

Residents and road users are thanked for their continued patience while these works are brought to completion. For queries, please email: sustainabletravelunit@corkcoco.ie.

Note: Comments will not be enabled on this update. Please keep an eye on local media outlets for further information as the scheme progresses.

Picture: St Raphael's Junction, Youghal. ... See MoreSee Less

Poetry Book Launch 'Chance Meeting' at Midleton Books, Main Street, Midleton on Saturday 7th February 2026 at 2pm. All welcome.

Paudrig Lee’s keen eye for detail is evident again in this second chapbook, Chance Meeting, with contrasting poems presenting snapshots of intergenerational family life, crucial moments in history, revisited or reimagined, and quiet observations of the natural world at its most mysterious and knowing! Born and living in Killeagh village, East Cork, Lee was raised in a family of nine and his ties to the land, and its woods and trees, are evident.

Like Smoking Bees, his debut chapbook, this collection also reflects his interests as a local historian and photographer. His poetry film Under Chestnut Trees featured in IndieCork Film Festival 2025, and his poem ‘The Miracle of Healing’ has been nominated for the PushCart Prize.

Both collections are available in local bookshops in Kinsale, Carrigaline, Midleton and Youghal, as well as Knocklyon, Dublin and online at www.paudriglee.com.
Published by Badhbh Press 2026 ... See MoreSee Less

A note from Michael Hussey, YoughalOnline (Updated 26 Jan 2026)

I want to sincerely apologise to Michael Twomey for the way his Pluribus review appeared on our page. When I formatted the text, some of his original wording ended up being changed, which was never my intention.

When Michael first sent me the review, I used AI purely to break it into paragraphs for layout, not to rewrite or "dumb down" his work. That said, it’s my responsibility to make sure what appears on YoughalOnline reflects the author’s exact words, and I completely accept that.

The review below now uses Michael’s original text, exactly as he wrote it, with only paragraph breaks added for easier reading. Michael’s writing speaks for itself and deserves to be shown in his own voice. Thanks to him for highlighting the issue, and thanks to everyone following the page for your continued support and understanding.

Pluribus
Apple TV
Writer and Director: Vince Gilligan

Warning! This review is completely AI free.

Vince Gilligan, Writer and Director of Apple TV’s near-perfect series, Pluribus, says it isn’t about AI. It isn’t but it could be. If not directly an analogy for AI, Pluribus explores the effects of our indulgence with it. The Utopian machinations being sold by the tech companies have the same off-colour stench as any cult; just hold your nose because at the end of this tunnel is freedom from human misery.

To illustrate, there is a tragically comic and comically tragic moment in Pluribus that encapsulates much about what we as humans are about to encounter - the realisation that following 300,000 of evolution, that took us from grunting knuckle draggers to the heights of scientific innovation and almost miraculous artistic expression, we are throwing it all away for convenience, begging the bots to do our thinking for us because, well, we just can’t be bothered anymore.

This moment in Pluribus shows Carol (Rhea Seehorn) in her house, rummaging through a pile of games. Sitting on the couch is Zosia (Karolina Wydra). Zosia has been assigned to communicate with Carol on behalf of the collective. The collective is millions of people all over the world who have been infected by a virus. The virus was created in a lab by scientists who adapted a signal from outer space into a biological entity. The virus was accidentally released, passing from human to human until the entire planet succumbed to its influence.

That is, except for Carol and a small number of others who remain immune to its effects. The collective think, talk and behave in unison. They are ‘one’. From many comes ‘one’ - Pluribus. The hive-mind collective uses the pronoun ‘we’ even when speaking singularly. They are benevolent, permanently smiling, willing to assist and ask for nothing more than unification. They also know everything, absolutely everything. A child can operate or compose an opera, build a nuclear weapon if asked.

So when Carol asks Zosia which game they might play she runs through the list of classics, she suggests Risk before realising a game about world domination is inappropriate. By the time she gets to chess she knows the exercise is futile. The joke is on her, her limitations as an imperfect specimen, a flawed skill set, an unpredictable actor in her environment has made her redundant.

Carol despises the hive-mind collective but finds it difficult to express that resentment to its representative, Zosia because Zosia is attractive, kind, willing and obedient. She only wants one thing from Carol - for Carol to be happy, and one day, for Carol to commune with the collective once it discovers a way to overcome her immunity.

The essential tenet of Pluribus is the right to free will. Zosia tells Carol she has free will, the freedom to choose, to resist or accept the world the way it is. It all sounds painfully familiar - God loves you, if you want eternal paradise, all you have to do is love God back and by the way, here is a list of rules on how you can do that; rule No. 1 - DO NOT BREAK THE RULES!

Carol was not exactly happy in the time before the great unification. She might be best described as ungrateful. She is a highly successful romance author adored by a faithful following. In secret, Carol has written what she believes to be a novel of literary standing and is angered by the insistence of everyone that she concentrate on pleasing the masses with more of the same romance drivel.

When she visits a hotel in Iceland, sculpted from ice, with a view of the Northern Lights, she complains to her partner, Helen (Miriam Shor) about the absurdity of the discomfort and cold. She despises any set up that tries to sell her something ill-conceived and worse, obvious. Ultimately, following Helen’s death during the great unification, Carol is alone, alone amongst the millions.

If you like your Sci-Fi with monsters you will find Pluribus a slow grind. Some episodes feel like nothing is happening and that is the point, nothing happens in Utopia because there is no friction, conflict, no humanity. Gilligan is the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul but Pluribus is nothing like its predecessors, though there are hints from both, particularly the cinematography of the Arizona landscape, that reveal Gilligan’s progress as a storyteller. That landscape, with its vast emptiness, is haunting, lonely and isolating.

The final two episodes work toward a second season. Carol, having ‘hurt’ the collective with a violent outburst, leading them to move away from her, asks for them to return because loneliness is Hell in comparison to the purgatory she is in. Meanwhile, another person immune to the virus is making his way north through South America toward Carol. Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) believes he and Carol can defeat the hive-mind virus together. The final episode sees the two struggle to understand how that can be achieved. It also leaves the viewer wondering if Carol has already lost her autonomy, exhausted by a sugar-high indulgence with Zosia.

Pluribus might be in the Sci-Fi genre but its reach is beyond categorisation. It’s not a new story; Brave New World, 1984, Logan’s Run and more recently, Silo all carry the theme of the individual’s struggle against ‘the truth’ behind their Utopia. Pluribus is about becoming subservient to mediocrity, hiding oneself in the mulch, sacrificing originality for ego-massaging gratification, pleasing the majority, the loss of critical thinking, the bravery to express a counter opinion instead of grandstanding or preaching to the choir, the death of individuality, the funeral of agency, the burial of self determination.

In short, everything that makes us human. It’s not about AI, as Gilligan has stated, but it is irresistible to read it as such. Elon Musk claims that in a few short years money will be unnecessary and work will be optional. What will people do with their time? Carol drinks into oblivion, watches hours of the Golden Girls, practices her golf swing, dines alone at a fancy restaurant, drives around in a police car. Carol has no purpose. Utopia has made her miserable.

If Musk’s prediction becomes true then one is reminded of the old saying - the Devil makes work for idle hands. Pluribus adds another old saying to the coming reality - be careful what you wish for. The future is not The Matrix or The Terminator, that would at least have some unpredictability and jeopardy. The future with AI is something much worse - a hive-mind collective resulting in terminal boredom. Pluribus suggests that 'To be or not to be' is no longer the question. To be bothered or not bothered to be is now the question of what it means to be human. ... See MoreSee Less