With a county the size of Cork, it's hardly surprising that west Cork should have its own distinct identity - an identity which, traditionally at least, owes less to tourism and good restaurants than to its prowess at Gaelic football.
The former Cork dual star Ray Cummins acknowledged as much when he identified winning the 1973 All-Ireland football title as the most memorable moment from a sporting career which also saw him win four All-Ireland hurling medals.
Cummins's selection wasn't based on the All-Ireland itself but rather on the aftermath, in particular touring with the Sam Maguire in west Cork and seeing the excitement it generated among folk who hadn't savoured All-Ireland success for 28 years.
The backbone of Cork football teams down through the years, providing players of the calibre of the late Weeshie Murphy, Kevin Jer O'Sullivan and Declan Barron, west Cork football went through some lean years in the 1970s and 1980s as Nemo Rangers and St Finbarr's dominated Cork football.
But the 1990s have yielded ample compensation. First O'Donovan Rossas in 1992 brought the Andy Scannell Cup under the Viaduct to be followed by Castlehaven in 1994 when they won their second title, Bantry in 1995, Clonakilty in 1996 and Beara last year.
Now, in what is a unique venture - at least in Cork terms - football aficionados have been given the chance to select an allstar team drawn from the west Cork sides who have captured five of the past six county titles.
The idea - the brainchild of a Bantry clubman, Dr Denis Cotter - will see the West Cork AllStars take on the only team to interrupt the area's dominance of Cork senior football in the 1990s, the 1993 Nemo Rangers team.
"I got the idea last year before the National League semi-final," said Dr Cotter. "I remarked to Haulie O'Neill from Clon how west Cork was now the powerhouse of Cork football and I thought it'd be interesting to select the best west Cork team."
Football fans from all over the area have until the start of February to select their all-star team and see if it coincides with that of the selectors.
The selectors in this case are the trainers of the five victorious teams - Gene O'Driscoll (Skibbereen), Jim Nolan (Castlehaven), Noel Crowley (Bantry), Haulie O'Neill (Clonakilty) and Donal O'Sullivan (Beara) - but there are restrictions. No selector can vote for players from his own club and players can be nominated only in the position in which they started when they won their county championship.
All of which throws up some interesting contests among those who have played for Cork - Larry Tompkins versus Mick McCarthy at full forward and at midfield, Damien O'Neill versus Niall Cahalane, who is eligible for selection but not to play. Others likely to feature include Anthony Davis from Skib, Mark O'Connor from Bantry, Clon's Eoin O'Mahony and Ciaran O'Sullivan from Beara.
And just to show it's not a parochial matter, former Cavan star John Brady, who won an All-Ireland club medal with O'Donovan Rossas, and ex-Limerick player Paddy Barrett, who won a county medal with Clonakilty, will also be in contention.
The all-star team will be announced at a gala dinner at the West Lodge Hotel in Bantry on Saturday, February 7th, and the following day the team will take on the 1993 Nemo Rangers team, which will include stars like Shea Fahy, Stephen O'Brien, Jimmy Kerrigan and Joe Kavanagh and will be managed for the day by Billy Morgan.
The proceeds from the game, at Wolfe Tone Park in Bantry, will go to Co-Action, a local charity which works with mentally and physically handicapped adults and children.
Dick Hogan is on holidays