the mildest place in Ireland, with a mean annual temperature of 11o. The climate zone is Cfb, temperate maritime. Economy and amenities The village's main industry consists of commercial and charter angling. A moderately sized tourist industry exists during the summer months. There are several beaches nearby, namely Dunworley Strand, Moloney Strand, Broadstrand and Blind Strand. The village has a hotel and a caravan park, catering mainly for visitors from Cork. About half of this new housing is owner-occupied, the remainder being rented to visitors. There are several bars and pubs in and around the village. Courtmacsherry is an angling center, and known for its many record catches. There is also a festival at the end of July - the beginning of August. It also hosts a horse race meeting on the strand each year. Lifeboat The first of Courtmacsherry's lifeboats was established in 1825 - one of the first to be founded in Ireland. This original lifeboat, however, reportedly deteriorated into an unusable condition, and Courtmacsherry was without an official vessel until February 1867, when the City of Dublin was placed in service. This, however, supposedly didn't stop the "Coastguardsmen and boatmen" from " rescuing by means of their own open boats the crews of wrecked vessels". A boathouse was also constructed this same year. Since then, eight (8) different boats have been placed in service at the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat station, with the Frederick Storey Cockburn, a Trent-class lifeboat, currently in service. Courtmacsherry harbours a lifeboat station (formerly based at nearby Barry's Point) and its volunteer crews have performed many rescues. The most famous was in May 1915 when the lifeboat of the day (the Ketzia Gwilt) rescued survivors of the RMS Lusitania sinking. Lifeboatmen involved on that day included Tim Keohane (father of Antarctic explorer Patsy Keohane), John Murphy, and his son Jerry. In January 2009, ultimately unsuccessful efforts were made by Courtmacsherry Lifeboat to save an 18-meter (59 ft) fin whale which was stranded at Kilbrittain, opposite Courtmacsherry. The whale's remains were preserved and are displayed in Kilbrittain. Transport Courtmacsherry railway station on the Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Extension Light Railway opened on 23 April 1891, closed for passenger traffic on 24 February 1947 and for goods traffic on 10 March 1947, finally closing altogether on 1 April 1961. The line had three locomotives, Slaney, St. Molaga and Argadeen. See also List of towns and villages in Ireland