
Air France expands Cork to Paris route operating year round
Air France confirmed that it will operate its Cork to Paris Charles de Gaulle service on a year-round basis from October 26.
The French flag-carrier will provide a direct service between Cork and its major hub up to four times a week during the winter months.
The announcement consolidates access to the French capital and will allow onward connectivity to more than 180 destinations across the wider Air France worldwide network. When combined with the network of KLM and Transavia, Air France customers flying from Cork can reach over 320 destinations across the globe.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Agriland
6 hours ago
- Agriland
French and Brazilian leaders disagree on Mercosur after meeting
The presidents of Brazil and France spoke of their differences on the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement yesterday, during a visit of the Brazilian leader to the European Country. According to reporting by Reuters, French president Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva differed with each other on the issue, with Lula calling for Macron to 'open his heart' to the deal, and Macron pushing back, highlighting the negative impact to French and European farmers. Lula is set to shortly take up the rotating presidency of the Mercosur bloc – which also includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – and indicated that he intends to use his six-month tenure to push the agreement over the final hurdles. 'I will not leave the Mercosur presidency without having concluded the trade deal,' he said. He also called on Macron to tell his fellow European leaders that Brazil was committed to fighting deforestation. According to the Reuters report, Macron said he was in favour of free and equitable trade, but that the deal, in its current form, would harm farmers as they would have to compete against South American farmers who are not subject to the same environmental regulations as European farmers. The French president said that the inclusion of so-called 'mirror clauses' may improve the deal. Reuters also reported that French farming organisations met with politicians this week and urged Macron to work with other EU countries to form a 'blocking minority' in the Council of the EU against the deal, (a blocking minority is four EU member states). Mercosur France and Ireland have been the two EU countries most steadfast against the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, with Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris recently telling the Dáil that he is unconvinced that Ireland's concerns about the trade agreement have been 'adequately addressed'. According to Minister Harris, both he and his officials continue to engage at EU level at every opportunity, with both the European Commission directly and with counterparts in EU member states, including France, to 'voice our concerns with the agreement'. Harris said both he and his officials have sought to 'interrogate the outcome of negotiations to assess if our concerns have been adequately addressed'. However, he said: 'I am not convinced they have been.'


Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Rich pickings at €1.6m Carewswood House, lovingly nurtured by Gill and Jack Hornibrook
THE gift of a tree to mark the birth of daughter number four sowed the seed that led to Gill and Jack Hornibrook buying Carewswood House in Castlemartyr 29 years ago. At the time the couple was running a business set up by Gill, Glendonagh Nursing home, in a period house in Dungourney. 'Neil Williams [the late owner of Carewswood House and Garden Centre] called after the birth of Rachel and he brought a tree to plant at Glendonagh, where we lived at the time. 'He told us that himself and Sonia (his wife) were selling Carewswood, that it had become too big for them, and he said 'We think you and Jack would be a great fit'.' As Gill was a keen gardener and Jack's background was in building and property development (Cork-based Hornibrook Builders) the notion of taking on a large period home on 40 acres, plus landscaped grounds, garden centre and cafe, while continuing to operate a nursing home, and a flower shop in Midleton, in between the business of raising four children, seemed, well, entirely manageable. Front view of Carewswood House Incredibly, the dynamic duo pulled it off. For years, they ran multiple businesses, before eventually leasing out the garden centre, which they sold in recent years to a couple that had made a very good fist of it while leasing it out. 'Daniel (Leahy) and Juulika (Lomp) are a fab couple, and they love it as much as we do. You just don't get walled gardens like that anymore, unless it's a top class property,' Gill says. Carewswood House is, inarguably, a top-class property. Built as the 'dower' house for the early 1700s nearby Castlemartyr House (dower houses were home to the widow or unmarried sisters of an estate owner), it was originally owned by the Boyle family, Earls of Shannon and baron of Castlemartyr. To this day you will find the remains of a tunnel that used to link the dower house, which dates to the 1800s, with the Great House, better known these days as five-star Castlemartyr Resort. While the pedigree of Carewswood House is immutable, the gardens grew from good stock too. Sumputous gardens Descendants of a chap called Barnabas Sall (or Saul), who worked on the demense grounds at Castlemartyr House, ended up as landscapers in Washington DC, including in the grounds of the White House. You'll find a plaque commemorating their achievements (dedicated to John Saul) in Castlemartyr. Gill was the gardening powerhouse at Carewswood and enjoying popping down to the nearby garden centre — it's handy these days when visitors drop by. 'We can all stroll down to the café,' Gill says. While Gill was the green-fingered half of the couple, Jack oversaw any building work. 'We'd the best of both worlds. I had the ideas and he had the people to implement them,' Gill says. She adds that the 'two greatest additions we made' were a beautiful, vaulted, south-east facing garden room, reached via French doors from the kitchen, and a front porch, with portico and columns, that faces south. Beautifully bright hallway Tasteful sunroom off the kitchen The delightfully bright porch 'When we bought the house, two big teak doors made the hallway very dark. Now, it's a wonderfully bright space.' A home bar and lounge area were added after Gill created space by removing a hidden backstairs. It had been concealed inside a suspiciously thick wall which Gill convinced one of Jack's workmen to saw through. Home bar was a terrific entertainment space 'When we sawed through, we found the stairs, so we took it out and fitted a bar,' Gill says. As a big fan of entertaining, she could shepherd guests straight to the bar while finishing off dinner preparations in the roomy kitchen, where herself and food buyer/blogger Rachel — daughter number four – have many happy memories of cooking up a storm. 'She was thinking of cheffing, but she was cured after doing a shift or two at Castlemartyr Hotel,' laughs Gill. Great big kitchen which opens to the sun room They've enjoying dining outdoors too, on the patio, or in a sandstone paved courtyard, where an old stone archway with intricate iron gates, topped by a bell and a weathervane, harks back to the days when bells were used to summon staff from service wings or announce the arrival of visitors. 'We did up the courtyard and we restored the gate lodge too. There was a tree growing through it when we bought the property and the land was ploughed fields,' Gill says. Jack and Gill did a tremendous job of Carewswood House and gardens and Gill's exceptional good taste is reflected in the décor of its myriad rooms. Exquisite drawing room Stately dining room Basement games room Basement lounge It's main reception rooms (drawing room and formal dining room, where the solid maple floors were salvaged from a former Midleton hotel ) have the high ceilings of a period home; the spacious basement (with external access) houses a games room with exposed stone walls, as well as a bathroom and family lounge; on the first floor, all five bedrooms have en suites. Upstairs landing Main bedroom There's a laundry room too and a pantry and a home office with underfloor heating. Outdoors, renowned South African landscaper Susan Turner worked on a new layout with Gill in recent years, resulting in a curved drive and an exquisite Koi pond. Stunning koi pond It's all good to go to the next set of owners. It even has a C2 energy rating, impressive for such an old house. 'This is a house you can walk into with your toothbrush,' Gill says. 'It has the grandeur of a big, old house, but even though it is very big (almost 5,000 sq ft), it is very manageable and practical, very warm and inviting.' She leaves behind many memories, mostly joyful (every family celebration) and a few tinged by sadness, mainly the passing of Jack on Christmas Day, 2023. 'He adored it here and he got his dying wish, that he would leave the world from home, with his family around him, myself and our four daughters, Victoria, Zara, Jacqueline and Rachel,' Gill says. As she prepares to downsize, joint agents Ray Sweetnam of Casey & Kingston and Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties, are bringing the house and a one-bed gate lodge, on three acres, to market for €1.6m. Ms Hegarty says the graceful property has been superbly Sweetnam says it's 'one of a kind'. It's a terrific location: a short walk from Castlemartyr village and close to the sea, with beaches nearby at Garryvoe and Ballycotton, while Midleton town is just a 10 minute spin and Cork city is a half hour drive. VERDICT: Demand for high end properties in East Cork is tracking upwards, with US interest on the rise among Irish buyers looking to return. Queries are in too from Cork City and Midleton, with keen interest in this exceptional home.


Irish Examiner
12 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ronan O'Gara: Rugby might be in trouble but Tolu Latu's made my day
TAKING stock of the state of club rugby would easily lead one to conclude it's in a bit of a state. The French Top 14 appears to be insulated from a lot of the turmoil, apathy and financial squeeze around comparable competitions like the URC and the Champions Cup, and given the eagle eyes of hedge funds and corporate investors, it is no massive shock that a new rebel league, the R360, has the potential to torpedo the status quo for the club game in 2026. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.