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Listen to the latest series.
11th August 2006
11th August 2006
7th July 2006
21st July 2006
16th June 2006
9th June 2006
21st July 2006
21st July 2006
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Programme 13: 1st September 2006
For the final programme in the series, Ella walks the incredible journey from Irishtown Nature Reserve, along the coastal path near the Docks, and out towards the Pigeon House Pier on the Great South Wall in Dublin.
She speaks with botanist Sylvia Reynolds, local historian
Brian Siggins and Half Moon Swimmer Tom McLoughlin.
Programme 12: 25th August 2006
Ella walks along what remains of the ancient bridle pathway linking Derry to Lough Derg. It was a pilgrim route used by people to the Lough.
She meets Liz Sheppard just outside of Raphoe who has a mile of intact pathway, and talks to John Conaghan in Ballybofey who also has some of the route near his house. She also hears from two siblings who remember seeing the pilgrims walking past their house near Ballybofey.
Programme 11: 18th August 2006
This week Ella goes on a walk with John Lusby of Birdwatch Ireland in North Tipperary, just outside of Portumna, in search of a family of owls that are breeding in a nearby castle ruin. John has been following the owls that are living in the castle for a number of months and Ella gets a few hints how to spot them
Programme 10: 11th August 2006
On Shanks Mare this week, Ella McSweeney walks Bilberry Rock to find out more about 28 unique goats that live there. It's thought that the animals arrived in Waterford with the Huguenots 300 years ago, and they're believed to be related to Maltese or cashmere goats. Ella meets goatkeeper Martin Doyle, and talks with Conor Kelleher and Emma Teeling who are doing genetic tests on the goats, and also Catherine Carroll who set up the Bilberry Goat Herd Protection Trust.
Contact email for the Bilberry Goat Herd Preservation Trust is bilberrygoats@eircom.net
Programme 9: 4th August 2006
Ella walks along the beautiful Lullymore Bog in Kildare. It's a raised bog managed by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (www.ipcc.ie) She meets with Jim Kenna who's cut the turf for the past 55 years, and also talks with Patrick Crushell who's doing research on the importance of raised bogs in Ireland. He introduces her to two Dutch students who explain why the Dutch people are so interested in Irish boglands. She finally meets Nuala Madigan and Caroline from the IPCC. Nuala is organising an exhibition on the Dutch-Irish bogland initiative, while Caroline explains why the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly loves the bogs so much.
Programme 8: 28th July 2006
Ella goes in search of her favourite mammal, the elusive and majestic otter. She joins zoologist Lughaidh O'Neill on his project along the King's River in Kilkenny.
"Lughaidh O'Neill would like to hear from anyone who has otter or mink corpses. You can contact him at Trinity College's Zoology Department (01 6081366), or email luoneill@tcd.ie"
Programme 7: 21st July 2006
Shanks Mare in Durrow, Co Laois
Ella visits Durrow in Co Laois to find out more about the unique
little freshwater animal, the Durrow Pearl Mussel that's found
in the River Nore - the only place in the world where you can see
this creature. It can live to a ripe old age of 130 years, and has
an incredible life cycle. Evelyn Moorkens talks to Ella about this
amazing species and how it breeds.
She also speaks with Anne Lannigan and Sean Conroy who live
in the town and have developed walks around the area.
Programme 6: 14th July 2006
Shanks Mare in Canty's Cove
Connie and Conor Kelleher are twins from Macroom, Co. Cork who both have a keen interest in local history and wildlife.
On this week's Shanks Mare, they join Ella to walk along the majestic coastline of Canty's Cove, overlooking Dunmanus Bay. It was here that pirates landed after their journeys too and from the West Indies, the Caribbean and Ireland. Connie talks about these pirates, and how local lordships were involved, such as the O'Driscolls of Baltimore. Ella also finds out about the wildlife of this incredible area, as Conor tells her about the species which make Canty's Cove their home.
Programme 5: 7th July 2006
In this week's Shanks Mare, Ella takes a walk from Tallaght to the Glenasmole Valley just beyond it.
She hears from Benny, a beekeeper who has kept bees in his back garden for over 40 years. She then meets Michael Kelly at his study site in Glenasmole. He's a zoologist who is trying to find out what effect a tiny parasitic worm has on another species of bee, the bumblebee. This parasite only infects the queen bee, and releases up to 100,000 eggs into the blood of the queen. And this changes her behaviour, as she makes no attempt whatsoever to find a nest site and feeds only for herself. Michael tells Ella more about his work and how this little worm does its damage inside the queen bumblebee.
Programme 4: 30th June 2006
Shanks Mare in Galway City
Many people will think of Galway United football team when they hear Terryland Park. But Terryland is also the name of a 160 acre stretch of wilderness in the middle of bustling Galway City. The nearby Terryland River is a tributary of the Corrib and goes through the waterworks for Galway.
Apart from the recently re-developed Eyre Square, there are no parks for the people of Galway City. It was in 1997 when a group of people decided to propose that the 160 acres should be developed as a forest park. The council agreed to keep the land wild and free of housing development, and it's now on the way to becoming a large piece of wild heaven in the middle of a busy city with a yew tree maze and a native tree planting scheme,
Colin Lawton is a zoologist who works in nearby NUI Galway and he now uses the 160 acre site as part of his mammal surveys. And it was on one of these surveys that his team found the first ever recorded bank vole in Galway county. Ella speaks with Colin about the wildlife in the park, and talks with local man Brendan Smith who was heavily involved in keeping this land free from development. She also meets naturalist Gordon D'Arcy who's been very enthusiastic about Terryland Forest Park.
Programme 3: 23rd June 2006
Glencree Valley is a mere 20 miles from the centre of Dublin, yet it feels a world away when you're walking the shores of the magnificent Lough Bre.
And it's just beside the glacier lake in a little cottage where Mrs McGuirk cooked delicious food for a host of Irish society; everyone from JM Synge, William Beckett, Hugh Lane, Robert Lloyd Praeger and even Douglas Hyde took the journey to this mecca of relaxation.
In this Friday's Shanks Mare, Ella walks from Glencree Village - famous for its Reconciliation Centre - along the old military road, past McGuirks Tea-Rooms and finishes by Powerscourt Waterfall.
On her way, she meets the oldest living resident in Glencree, 85 year old Kevin Kelly whose sister used to run the local shop. He remembers the boys who used to live in the reconciliation centre when it was a reformatory. She finds out more about how and why the military road was built by the British when writer Michael Fewer joins her, and they both meet Gloria Smith who was the last person to run the tea-shop before it closed in 1998. Gloria recalls coming across the old visitor books, complete with sketches and notes from the glitterati of Irish literary society.
Ella ends the walk with cousins Michael and Mark Hogan who live in an 18th century farmhouse near the waterfall. Michael is the last farmer in the valley. They talk to her about how the farming way of life has slowly but surely gone by the wayside in the past few years.
Programme 2: 16th June 2006
Tolka Valley Forest Park lies in the heart of busy North Dublin. But walk a few hundred metres off the main M50 and you will come to a beautiful wildlife haven - the trees full of singing birds, the Tolka River stocked with fish. It's here that biodiversity officer Hans Visser is hoping to develop a wildlife park for the local people. Ella McSweeney finds out more in Shanks Mare this morning, and also talks to local fishermen John Hennessy and Pat White.
Programme 1: 9th June 2006
Ella McSweeney travels to Corofin to walk with Ireland's only cave archaeologist Dr Marion Dowd, who has dug up some incredible remains. She found uncremated human bones dating back 3,500 years, buried with amber, shell jewellery and pottery shards.
Ella also talks with caver Colin Bunce, and local historian Myra English.
(Repeated June 21st 2007)
