The Magic Of Winter In West Cork, Where Music, Food And Drink Lift The Spirits

Ireland’s southernmost tip has been reinvigorated by new vibrant venues, markets and restaurants, which has brought an energy that brightens even the darker months

When our son was very young, we spent several Easter holidays in Baltimore, a beautiful harbour village in West Cork. We took the ferry across Roaringwater Bay to Sherkin Island and Cape Clear, where Fastnet Rock Lighthouse looms in the distance, wistfully known as Ireland’s Teardrop by mournful emigrants setting off across the Atlantic in centuries past.

We stayed at a friend’s holiday home on the hill overlooking the bay but the house was eventually sold and, sadly, Baltimore no longer played a recurring role in our lives. Recently, this maritime gem came up in conversation at a friend’s birthday celebration in Dublin. I was introduced to Stuart Musgrave, who explained that he had ditched his London life to return to Baltimore at the start of the pandemic, moving his young family into his own childhood holiday home. He described the freedom that had opened up during that time with Carbery’s 100 Isles to explore – the islands in and around Long Island Bay and Roaringwater Bay – and his own lockdown project reimagining St Matthew’s Church as a live music venue.