Shanks Mare 2004

Click on a date to listen to the show.

Programme 1: Listen 11/06/04
Ella walks the ancient woodland of Prehen Wood, just a short walk from Derry city. The woodland is over 600 years old and used to be nearly 800 acres in size, but is now 18.5 acres. She speaks with local woman Mary Taylor who has been walking the woods for over twenty years, feeding the native red squirrels each and every day. The UK Woodland Trust finally secured the woodland late last year which means that it is safe from development. Ella also speaks to Brian Poots of the Trust, amongst others.

Check out Prehan Wood on the Woodland Trust website at www.wt-woods.org.uk/PrehenWood .

Programme 2: Listen 18/06/04
Shanks Mare this week comes from Ballyvourney in West Cork. Ella McSweeney is accompanied by Conor & Connie Kelleher on the walking route from St. Abbans grave to St. Gobnait's church. Conor Kelleher is one of Ireland's foremost experts on bats, while Connie is an underwater archaoeologist working for Duchas. They are twins and have been living in Ballyvourney all their lives, regularly walking up through the woodlands to play when they were children.

Programme 3: Listen 25/06/04
This week Ella walks the area surrounding Sleibh Beigh ('bay') in North Monaghan and is joined by local history and wildlife experts - Brian McKenna of Truagh Heritage Committee, John McCohey of Knockatallon Ramblers Association and Gerry Clerkin of Birdwatch Ireland.

Programme 4: Listen 02/07/04
Ella is joined by Anthony McElron who has been fascinated by merlins for the past 25 years. He takes her on a walk up Duff Mountain in Wicklow and shows her how walkers can identify if merlins are around the area or not. Merlins are the smallest falcon in Ireland and are known for being elusive and shy. They take over old crow nests to incubate and bring up their young, and are found nesting in spruce trees in the rolling Wicklow countryside.

Programme 5: Listen 09/07/2004
This week Ella walks along the 'Golden Mile' of hedgerow in Dromalga, Co. Roscommon, and meets hedgerow enthusiasts Anya Murray and Neil Foulkes, and some local people on the way.

Programme 6: Listen 16/07/2004
This week Ella is joined by naturalist Terry Flanagan, who shows her that the parks of Dublin are perfect places to walk for urban dwellers. She visits Blessington Street Basin, Croppies Memorial Park, St. Catherine's off Thomas Street, St. Kevins and finally Merrion Park.

Programme 7: Listen 23/07/2004
This week Ella travels to the wonderful, magical island of Cape Clear, off Baltimore in Co. Cork. Three miles long, one mile wide and 8 miles from Cork mainland, the cape is home to a wide variety of bird and plant species. Ella goes there and talks to localman Diarmuid O'Driscoll, Ed Harper who keeps goats on the island, and Media Lab Europe researcher Alison Wood who has developed a device using new technology that enhances a hikers experience when walking.

Check out Media Lab Europe website at www.mle.ie

Programme 8: Listen 30/07/2004
This week Ella travels to Newcastle West in Limerick where a stretch of old railway will be officially opened as a walking route on the 15th August 2004. The stretch is part of the old 53 mile railway route from Limerick to Tralee that opened in 1867 and closed in 1975. She meets Liam O'Mahony of the 'Great Southern Trail' group and also meets Denis Foley, who spent all his life working on the railway through the last century. www.southerntrail.pro.ie

Programme 9: Listen 06/08/2004
This week Ella walks from the town of Ballinageara in Co. Leitrim to Boh in Co. Fermanagh to find out more about the Ballinaglera-Boh Partnership - a new cross-border ecotourism initiative funded by the European Union to attract walkers to various features of the landscape. She meets local people who take her to see the old 17th century sweathouses, built to help suffers of rheumatism, she walks on to the caves of Boho with caver Sean Magee, and finishes her walk in the Ross Lough Nature Reserve and is joined by naturalist Victor McManus who tells her more about the wildlife of the area and of his plans to create an eco-walk through the valley and down to Ross Lough.

For any information about the areas and places we visited people can contact:
Ballinaglera-Boho Partnership
Shannonview Schoolhouse
Newbridge
Dowra
Co. Leitrim Phone: 071 9643117
Contact: Karina Kelly- karinakelly@eircom.net

For the Fermanagh Boho cave system - contact Sean Magee (00 44) 7977487119
www.cavingireland.org

Speleological Union of Ireland
House of Sport
Long Mile Road
Walkinstown
Dublin 12

Programme 10: Listen 13/08/2004
Ella takes a trip to the Sligo seashore and meets teachers and pupils involved in 'From Skerrydoo to Carrickfadda, a Study of Sligo's Coastline'. This was is a schools hertiage project which involved 12 local schools surveying the coastline of Sligo. They looked at the heritage of the area, the wildlife and local history and produced a multimedia CD which can also be accessed on the internet www.sligoseashore.com

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