Press Release: 20 Years Of Mooney Goes Wild

Mooney Goes Wild Celebrates 20 Years with Dawn Chorus Exhibition at Cork Airport

20th Anniversary Dawn Chorus to be simulcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio Ulster

RTÉ Radio 1’s much-loved nature programme Mooney Goes Wild celebrates 20 years on air this May

To celebrate this momentous anniversary, which makes Mooney Goes Wild the longest-running nature-focused magazine radio show in the world, the Mooney Goes Wild team will bring the beauty of birdsong to all corners of Ireland: a Dawn Chorus inspired audiovisual installation is to run throughout the month of May at Cork Airport, and the inimitable Dawn Chorus broadcast will this year be aired simultaneously by both RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio Ulster.

The Dawn Chorus will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and simultaneously on BBC Radio Ulster from midnight on Saturday 2nd May through to 6am on Sunday 3rd May.

Portmore Lough, Co. Antrim

Aside from the main site at Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve in Cobh, Mooney Goes Wild has eleven other Dawn Chorus locations throughout Ireland including Glenveigh National Park in Donegal, Lough Boora Park in Co Offaly, Portmore Lough in Co Antrim, and the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin to name but a few.

The Dawn Chorus exhibition was unveiled at 11:30am today, Friday May 1st, at Cork Airport. This spectacular audiovisual installation was officially launched by Mrs. Brown’s Boys star, Rory Cowan. Rory was joined by presenters Bláthnáid Ni Chófaigh, Alan Hughes and Derek Mooney.

In this immersive installation, beautiful birdsong, recorded at Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve in Cobh, will be played throughout Cork Airport continuously to accompany large-scale photographs of some of Ireland’s most magnificent, indigenous birds, taken by wildlife photographer and Cobh native, Mark Carmody. Click here to see all Mark's stunning photographs from the installation.

Derek Mooney says: “I’m delighted that Mooney Goes Wild has lasted 20 years. It just goes to show the appetite that there is for natural history here in Ireland. One of the mainstays of the show over that period has been the live broadcast of the Dawn Chorus. Teaming up with Cork Airport just seemed like a natural progression. Now for the first time in an Irish airport, passengers will experience this unique phenomenon.”

The Dawn Chorus Exhibition at Cork Airport runs from May 1st – 31st 2015. The Dawn Chorus will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1, on Sunday May 3rd, from 00:00 until 06:00.

Some images from the launch at Cork Airport this morning: