Panel: Terry Flanagan, Ken Whelan & Niall Hatch

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 a segment about the Flapper Skate, the largest species of skate in the world and, sadly, also one of its most threatened. With that in mind, and to help you to learn more about these remarkable fish, our suggestion from the Mooney Goes Wild archives this week is a segment about how you can help researchers to monitor them.

First broadcast in March of this year, it features an interview with Danielle Orrell, a Marine Biologist at University College Cork, about ongoing efforts to locate the hatching grounds of Flapper Skates off the south coast of Ireland and why our listeners’ records of "mermaid’s purses" could hold the clue.

To listen to this segment from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22502003/

Looking back at Ken Whelan’s Nature On One documentary on mayflies

There is much more to mayflies than might meet the eye. These seasonally emerging insects represent a crucial element of our ecosystem, providing food for other insects, for birds and, most importantly of all, for a great many of our native fish species. They are also fascinating creatures in their own right, with a complex lifecycle that is largely hidden from human eyes.

Mayflies have long been a source of wonder and fascination for our fisheries scientist Dr Ken Whelan, so much so that he even did his PhD on their biology. He also made a special documentary for us all about them, which was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 earlier today, Bank Holiday Monday 4th August, as part of our Nature on One series. On tonight’s programme, he reflects on the programme and gives us some insights into how and why he made it.

By the way, don’t worry if you missed Ken’s mayfly documentary: you can listen back to it, any time you like, at https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11738976/

For more information about mayflies and the consequences of climate change both for them and for the fish that eat them, visit https://www.irelandonthefly.com/p/trout-in-hot-water-ken-whelan-on

For more information about Ken Whelan and his work, visit https://www.kenwhelan.info/

Sustainable Futures Forum 2025

On 25th February of this year, delegates convened in The Glucksman art gallery at University College Cork for the Sustainable Futures Forum, a high-level thought leadership forum for discussing critical climate and sustainability issues of national and international importance. The aims were to:

Provide strategic direction on the role of universities in climate action and nature preservation for a sustainable world;

Catalyse collaborative climate action and sustainability at pace and scale; and

Position University College Cork at the forefront of the national and international sustainability and climate conversation with a new platform for shaping policy.

A range of expert speakers and panellists were present to share their research, experience and wisdom, including our own Éanna Ní Lamhna and Niall Hatch, who, along with ornithologist and environmental activist Seán Ronayne, participated in a panel discussion entitled "Towards a Nature-Positive Future", chaired by Prof. John O’Halloran, President of UCC, before a packed house.

Also in attendance on the day was our roving reporter Terry Flanagan, who was on hand to interview some of the presenters and attendees for two very special bonus episodes of Mooney Goes Wild. On tonight’s programme, he tells us more.

The first of Terry’s programmes was broadcast on RTÉ Radio One last Friday, and the second one will follow on Friday 8th August at 22:30. Be sure to tune in!

To listen back to our first programme about the Sustainable Futures Forum, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11738361/

For more information about the Sustainable Futures Forum, visit https://www.ucc.ie/en/sustainable-futures-forum/

Two critically endangered Flapper Skates washed ashore in Co. Mayo

The Flapper Skate is the largest species of skate in the world, clocking in at up to 2.5 metres in length. Sadly, these mighty fish have been classified globally as "critically endangered" and are considered at significant risk of extinction.

It is crucially important, therefore, that scientists and conservationists learn as much about the species as possible, in order better to understand their requirements and the factors driving their declining numbers. A perfect opportunity to do just that presented itself in May of this year, when two Flapper Skates washed ashore on a Co. Mayo beach. The stranding, which was reported by members of the public and relayed to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s stranding network, gave marine researchers a rare chance to collect essential data on one of the most threatened elasmobranch species in Europe.

On tonight’s programme, we speak to one of those researchers, Louise Overy, Wildlife Biology Lecturer at Munster Technical University, about the plight of the Flapper Skate, what the scientific study of these two stranded individuals has revealed and how the public can contribute information about these amazing marine creatures by reporting sightings of "mermaid’s purses".

For more information about mermaid’s purses, visit https://marinedimensions.ie/what-is-a-mermaid-purse/

To report any mermaid’s purses that you happen to find, visit https://marinedimensions.ie/purse-search-sightings-form/

For more information about The Irish Elasmobranch Group, visit https://irishelasmobranchgroup.wordpress.com/

International Conference on Basking Sharks

From 29th to 31st August 2025, the International Conference on Basking Sharks will be taking place at Atlantic Technological University in Galway. Hosted jointly by the Irish Basking Shark Group and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, it will consist of two days of technical presentations (talks and posters) and workshops at ATU, followed by a special Ocean Literacy Day on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, celebrating the cultural significance of this species.

On tonight’s programme, Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Basking Shark Group and the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group looks forward to the conference and tells us more about the amazing Basking Shark, which is the second-largest species of fish in the world.

For more information about International Conference on Basking Sharks, visit https://www.baskingshark.ie/conference2025

Reporting from Global Birdfair 2025 in Rutland, England

Every July, Rutland – the smallest county in England – plays host to the Global Birdfair, the world’s largest annual celebration of birds. Running for three days, it attracts conservation organisations, wildlife tour companies, book publishers, optical equipment manufacturers and ornithological experts from all over the world.

One of those who was in attendance was our own Niall Hatch, who joins us on tonight’s programme to tell us a bit more about the event and to bring us interviews he conducted with two of the exhibitors.

· Birding the Islands

Up first is Ryan Chenery from the beautiful West Indian nation of Barbados. Author of the acclaimed field guide Birds of the Lesser Antilles, he is an expert in the avifauna of the Caribbean region and founder of a nature tour company called Birding the Islands, which specialises in organising and leading birding trips through the magical islands of the Lesser Antilles and wider Caribbean region. He talks to Niall about some of the unique birds of the region, the important role ecotourism plays in supporting the conservation of endangered species and what the Global Birdfair means for his business.For more information about Birding the Islands, visit https://www.birdingtheislands.com/

· How tourism is driving conservation in Sri Lanka

Next, Niall spoke with Chandika Jayaratne, Wildlife Specialist with Sri Lankan company Jetwing Eco Holidays. Chandika gave a presentation at the Global Birdfair about how the desire amongst tourists to see the spectacular birds and other wildlife of his native island, when managed correctly, is proving to be a crucial driving force for conservation. Niall was keen to ask him more about this, as well as about some of the things that make Sri Lanka one of the best wildlife-watching destinations in the world.For more information about Jetwing Eco Holidays, visit https://www.jetwingeco.com/

For more information about the Global Birdfair, visit https://globalbirdfair.org/

An update on Garrylucas Marsh

Finally on tonight’s programme, Karla Goodman gives us an update on Garrylucas Marsh (also known as Kilcolman Bog) in West Cork, which featured in our colleague Michele Browne’s Custodians of Ireland series on RTÉ Radio One.

To listen back to the episode of Custodians of Ireland featuring Garrylucas Marsh, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11684797/