As one of the most pre-eminent chef's to ever emerge from Cork, Ross Lewis was a natural choice to front the inaugural Taste of Cork Festival.

Purists may zealously argue the point that art and commerce cannot co-exist side by side. The fact of the matter is however that both entities, for all their apparent juxtapositions, have been willing cohorts for the vast duration of both of their existences. It is the issue of credibility that provides the real sticking point across the metaphorical dividing line.

Mary Crilly, Director of Cork's Sexual Violence Centre can only be described as the heart and soul of the Cork centre since she has stood firmly by it from it's early establishment in 1983.

First Minister of Northern Ireland and Veteran Politician and Church Leader Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was in Cork last Friday night to address the 50th Annual Dinner of the Cobh and Harbour Chamber of Commerce at the Commodore Hotel.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kathy Sinnott has been a regular contributor to the political debate in Cork for many years now.

This June people from across Cork will have their say on the Lisbon Treaty and will decide whether Ireland should accept or reject the document. With less than two months to go before Ireland casts its vote on the treaty, Mary O' Keeffe spoke to Cork based MEP Colm Burke to find out how he believes Ireland should vote in the upcoming referendum on the treaty and why.