Clonakilty, Co. Cork

Clonakilty is one of Ireland's most consistently pretty towns. This place, situated 25 miles from Cork and 151 miles from Dublin, has captured several Tidy Towns awards. Built on the Farla river, Clonakilty is also famously the birth place of patriot Michael Collins.

More modern times has seen it home to haven-seekers from the world who come for the town's beautiful coastal location and modern luxuries, like Grade A hotels and a spa on Inchidoney Island.

The local population, of about 2,500, has in excess of 1,085 students getting their second level education at Clonakilty Community College and the Sacred Heart Secondary School in the town.

Meanwhile, Clonakilty Agricultural College, governed by Teagasc, provides training in agriculture to full-time residential students. The college is deeply involved in applied research in agriculture and horticulture.

This town's reputation as a quality place to live and learn is growing. As well as the great natural scenery that surrounds it, Clonakilty credibly offers itself as a traditional music centre, running its Clonakilty Festival every June and July. Indeed, to facilitate the music, there's plenty of excellent old bars, like De Barra's on Pearse St, a favourite haunt of a good friend of this reporter. So yes, Clonakilty would seem the ideal base from which to explore the beautiful, crazily indented coastline of West Cork.

But apart from its looks, Clonakilty also looks after the education of its folks. To make sure that everyone's getting looked after, FÁS, the Industrial Training Authority operates training centres in Clonakilty as well as in its Cork City offices. Courses are offered in Construction, Electrical Maintenance, Mechanical Engineering, Instrumentation and Tool-Making. The Cork centre caters for 700 adult trainees while that in Clonakilty hosts half that number but provides the same range of classes. Not far from FAS headquarters in Clonakilty, there's High Tech Computers, the town's main technology shop which also offers computing classes to the town residents.

The hub of evening learning in Clonakilty is the local Community College. Phone the College on 023 33877. Be aware that the range of classes on offer is very extensive and includes: Computers, European Computer Driving License and Crafts. For language lovers there's French (beginners / advanced), German, Irish (all levels) and Spanish.

There's also a photography and a part-time secretarial course. If you think you're up to DIY,as opposed to buying your furniture off the shop shelf, there's Upholstery and Furniture craft (upholstery and furnishings.)

Next-door to the Community College, there's the Community Hall and you'll find all manner of sports activities and social get-togethers there in the evenings. Said local woman Aisling Lyons: "The community hall is great for indoor soccer in the evenings but there's also so much more activity going on there during the year." Aisling, fiercely proud of her town reckons that the part-time secretarial courses offered in the Community College are "the best in West Cork."

For younger Clonakiltyites, there's the Foróige club, which runs all manner of activities from its base in the Boiler Room. Founded in 1990, the club members and adult leaders will celebrate this milestone on Friday 15th December next.