Castlecove, between Sneem and Waterville on the Ring of Kerry, doesn't receive much attention. But today is a red letter as four members of the small community leave for Japan to represent Ireland in an international environmental competition.
There are now only 161 people living in Castlecove compared with 17,200 during the Great Famine. At that time Castlecove was designated a congested area. Today Castlecove is one of the fastest dying communities in the south-west.
Unable to attract sponsors and moneygivers and with politicians too not interested in pleas for help, the community decided to go it alone. So the community raised its own funds, and today four members head off for Japan to take part in the Green Oscars - the environmental equivalent of the Hollywood Oscars.
The event is run by the Nations in Bloom organisation and its worldwide panel of judges has the responsibility to decide whether local efforts in a city such as Toronto, Canada, with its vast population and resources, or those in remote Castlecove, with only a handful of people, should be recognised.
With only slim resources Castlecove was delighted when it learned that it had reached the final of this year's competition. Along with Ireland, representatives from China and Russia will be seeking honours for the first time this year when the competitors assemble at Hamamatsu, about two hours from Tokyo.
Hamamatsu was chosen because it was left practically bereft of trees after the second World War and since then has adopted a "green city" approach. Last year, the event was held at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.
There is no financial reward for the winners, but they will be rewarded in other ways. By the time the awards ceremony takes place in the middle of this month, Castlecove will have participated in workshops and seminars and will have had access to the best expertise on how local communities can make a future for themselves, using everything around them.
The Castlecove women's group has been the catalyst in drawing together every interest group in the area in a common cause. And while only four people will be in Japan, everyone left behind will be rooting for them and waiting for news.
From fishermen to tradesmen, not a single person in this tiny community is unaffected by what is already seen as a local success. There will be an exchange of gifts between Hamamatsu and Castlecove. The Kerry community will present a sculpture of a seal carved from a fallen elm tree to the city of Hamamatsu. We will have to wait to hear what gift the Japanese give to the Irish group.
Castlecove became aware of the competition through a Department of the Environment bulletin. It will make its case through a self-made video, made possible only because the £700 to purchase a camcorder was raised within the area as was the £4,000 cost of travelling to Japan.
There will also be an oral presentation at a session behind closed doors with the judges. With everybody wishing good luck to Castlecove, I feel this community isn't finished yet.