COUNTY CORK - WHEN TO GO

The best times to visit County Cork are from mid-March to June and in September and October.

July and August are the peak holiday periods. May and June are the sunniest months with six-seven hours of sunshine per day. July and August are the warmest, with mean temperatures of 57-59 degrees. April and June are the driest, with 65-70mm monthly rainfall. From November to March, daylight hours are short, the weather is damp, and many places close. March can be chilly, with daily temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

Springtime is heralded in Baltimore with a fiddle fair, followed by a seafood and jazz festival in May.

Autumn sees West Cork go food crazy, especially in Skibbereen, which hosts the Taste of West Cork Food Festival in September, and in the culinary capital of Kinsale, which has an excellent, long-established gourmet festival in October.

Cork city's perennially popular jazz festival swings into town in late October.