Panel: Richard Collins & Niall Hatch

Reporter: Terry Flanagan

In addition to listening to us on RTÉ Radio One at 22:00 every Monday night, don't forget that you can also listen back to each of our programmes any time you like at www.rte.ie/mooney. There, you will find an extensive archive of past broadcasts, conveniently split into different topics and segments.

Tonight’s programme features an interview with butterfly and moth expert Jesmond Harding, speaking about the rare Death’s-head Hawk-moth. Our recommendation from the Mooney Goes Wild archives this week, therefore, is a conversation with Jesmond which we first broadcast in September of this year, in which he explains the reasons why 2024 appears to have been a very poor year for Irish butterflies.

To listen to this segment from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22436095/

Listen back to last week’s Christmas gift books special

Last week’s episode of Mooney Goes Wild was our traditional annual Christmas gift special, with the focus this year being entirely on books. So, if you are looking for a nature-themed publication to keep your nearest and dearest happy this festive season, be sure to listen back to hear the expert recommendations from Derek and our panel, along with interviews with our featured natural history authors.

To listen back to last week’s Christmas gift books special, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/mooney/2024/1209/1485577-mooney-goes-wild-monday-9-december-2024/

Congratulations, Dr. Éanna Ní Lamhna!

All of us here in the Mooney Goes Wild team would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our esteemed colleague and friend Éanna Ní Lamhna, who last month was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science by the University of Galway.

The honorary degree was bestowed upon Éanna in recognition of her decades of work to bring nature and conservation to the Irish public, and we can think of nobody who deserves it more. Congratulations, Dr. Éanna!

For more information about the University of Galway’s 2024 honorary degrees, visit https://www.universityofgalway.ie/media/presidentsoffice/Honorary-Degree-Awardees-2024.pdf

Death’s-head Hawk-moth

Recently, Jesmond Harding from Butterfly Conservation Ireland was in-studio to express alarm at the plight of Ireland’s butterflies and moths. He wasn’t alone on that occasion: he brought in a surprise guest with him, namely the (extremely large) pupal stage of the Death’s-head Hawk-moth. This extremely striking creature is not a common insect in Ireland. In fact, it is only occasionally found here and only in the east of the country.

Jesmond informed us at the time that he was hoping to keep the moth pupa safe until it emerged as an adult. He contacted us recently to let us know that his efforts had been successful. The (also extremely large) adult moth recently emerged, so we dispatched our roving reporter Terry Flanagan to see this incredible creature before it was released into the wild.

For more information about Death’s-head Hawk-moths, visit https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/deaths-head-hawk-moth

Nightjars confirmed to be breeding in the south-east of Ireland

The mysterious Nightjar is one of Ireland’s most elusive and least known birds. Only emerging during the hours of darkness to feed on moths and other nocturnal insects, its highly camouflaged plumage and intensely secretive nature mean that it is a very difficult bird to find. With only sporadic records of breeding over recent decades, mostly in the south and south-east, the general consensus was that we had effectively lost Nightjars from Ireland.

However, as we hear on tonight’s programme, a new survey coordinated by BirdWatch Ireland and supported by Kilkenny County Council, Wexford County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund has confirmed that this species still survives in the southeast of the country.

For more information about Nightjars and the exciting proof of their continued breeding presence in Ireland, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/nightjar-confirmed-to-be-breeding-in-the-south-east/

On Land and Water: the superb new book from wildlife photographer Sheena Jolley

It has been wonderful to see so many fantastic new Irish nature-themed books hitting the shelves recently. One of those recently published books that really caught our eyes is On Land and Water by acclaimed wildlife photographer Sheena Jolley, who will be well-known to many of our listeners as one of the judges of our Eye on Nature photography competition.

This superb book differs from most of the other nature photography books on the market, in that it incorporates the poetry of the late D.J. O’Sullivan alongside Sheena’s photographs. Sheena’s inspiration for the project dates back to 2006, when she visited Inishtrahull, Ireland’s most northerly island, and met the lighthouse keeper Donal O’Sullivan, who suggested the idea of republishing his father’s poems to accompany her wildlife images. The result is a perfect present for anyone with an interest in wildlife photography and poetry.

For tonight’s programme, our roving reporter Terry Flanagan travelled to the Dublin launch of On Land and Water in the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, where he managed to chat to Sheena before the event kicked off.

For more information about On Land and Water and about Sheena’s photography, visit https://www.sheenajolleyphotography.com/

The Keeper of the Bees: Bees and Beekeeping in Irish Folklore

In her wonderful new book The Keeper of the Bees: Bees and Beekeeping in Irish Folklore, beekeeper’s daughter and a student of folklore Eimear Chaomhánach weaves folktales about bees with her memories of growing up in a beekeeping household, collecting swarms with her father and learning how to harvest honey.

On tonight’s programme, Éanna Ní Lamhna chats to Eimear about this fascinating look at the beliefs and traditions which surround bees and beekeeping in Irish myth and legend.

For more information about The Keeper of the Bees, which is published by The O’Brien Press, visit https://obrien.ie/the-keeper-of-the-bees