The place of bats in the natural world, and the folklore associated with the winged mammals.
Paddy O'Sullivan from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Service is part of a team undertaking a national survey of Ireland’s seven species of bats.
Bats are the only flying mammals in Ireland and keep their distance from humans. Roosting in old buildings, trees and caves, these nocturnal animals feed on night flying insects.
A survey of bat roosts is being made in various parts of the country. People are often alarmed to discover that they have bats in their attics. Paddy O'Sullivan believes they should feel,
Privileged to have such beautiful creatures in their houses.
Seanchaí Eddie Lenihan tells a story about bats.
During the reign of King Cormac Mac Art, bats were held in high regard and roosted in every nobleman's house, including the royal hall at the Hill of Tara where the king and his elite band of warriors the Fianna feasted,
They used to be hanging off the royal rafters.
One enemy of the Fianna at that time was the son of the King of Greece, who did his best to conquer Ireland on a regular basis. His advisors devised a plan which involved sending specially trained Greek bats to spy on the Fianna.
Having gathered the intelligence, the Greek bats returned to the Isle of Man where the Greek army was waiting. They invaded Ireland, but after a fierce battle the Fianna managed to defeat them.
Afterwards when King Cormac discovered what the bats had done, a curse was placed on them by his druid Taoscán Mac Liadh, who banished them to the dark underground places. Bats have remained there ever since, because of,
The dirty deed their ancestors did all them years ago.
This episode of 'Late Late Extra’ was broadcast on 25 May 1986. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
Billed in the RTÉ Guide as an "adjourned sitting" of 'The Late Late Show', 'Late Late Extra' consisted of extra, unseen content from 'The Late Late Show'. It was first broadcast on 6 October 1985, shortly after 'The Late Late Show' had moved from its Saturday night slot to Friday nights.
'The Late Late Show' was intended to be a summer filler, but proved so successful with the public that it became part of the regular schedule. The idea for the programme came from the show's producer, Tom McGrath, who wanted to present an Irish version of the American talk show 'The Tonight Show'.
Gay Byrne was to be the show's presenter and would remain so for the next thirty-seven years. Tom McGrath's original idea was that the show would be informal and have the feel of people dropping in for a chat.
'The Late Late Show' became an important forum for the airing and debating of many issues in a changing Irish society.
The first episode of 'The Late Late Show' was broadcast at 11.20 pm, 6 July 1962. At the time, it was unusual to have a live talk and entertainment show on so late in the day's viewing. On that first show, the guests were Count Cyril McCormack, Ken Gray, George Desmond Hodnett and Harry Thuillier. McGrath would go on to pioneer many other successful variety shows on Irish television.
Pat Kenny replaced Gay Byrne as presenter in 1999 and remained in that position for 10 years. The programme was presented by Ryan Tubridy from 2009 to 2023. Patrick Kielty became the presenter in 2023.
