Panel: Richard Collins, Éanna Ní Lamhna & 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.

As we hear on tonight’s programme from Jesmond Harding of Butterfly Conservation Ireland, this summer has been a very good one for butterfly numbers across Ireland. This is especially welcome, as the previous two summers were exceptionally poor for butterflies, causing concern amongst conservationists.

By way of background, and to help explain why a bumper butterfly summer is so welcome, our recommendation from the Mooney Goes Wild archives this week is an interview with Jesmond which we first broadcast in September of last year, in which he discusses why the summer of 2024 was such a poor one for these beloved insects.

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

Are butterflies finally flying high again this year?

Over the course of the summer, we received lots of e-mails from listeners all over Ireland who wanted to contact us about butterflies numbers in their gardens. Unlike the same period last year, and the year before that, when most people seemed to be reporting a marked absence of butterflies, these emails were much more positive. It seems, anecdotally at least, that butterfly numbers are well up this year. That’s a very welcome development, given how disappointing the previous two summers were for butterfly numbers in Ireland.

With this in mind, we dispatched our roving reporter, Terry Flanagan, to meet lepidopterist Jesmond Harding of Butterfly Conservation Ireland, author of The Irish Butterfly Book: A Complete Guide to the Butterflies of Ireland, to find out whether our optimism this year is justified.

For more information about Butterfly Conservation Ireland, visit https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/

Global Action Plan: helping people to reconnect with nature

Global Action Plan is an environmental charity that guides people on a journey of discovery to reconnect us with nature and with one another, in which regard it has been hugely successful. It recently released its 2024 Impact Report and what stands out is the sheer amount of interaction with the public it has had: a grand total of 725 workshops and events across 17 counties during the year.

Terry Flanagan, met with Hans Zomer, CEO of Global Action Plan, and Niamh Ní Iceadha, the charity’s Education Officer, in the organisation’s Ballymun GLAS gardens, where they outlined some of the initiatives that they and their colleagues are involved in.

For more information about Global Action Plan, visit https://globalactionplan.ie/

Wings and Bird Detectives: we take a look at BirdWatch Ireland’s membership magazines

BirdWatch Ireland is Ireland’s largest wildlife conservation charity, with a nationwide membership of over 15,000 people supporting its vital nature surveying, protection and restoration work. Those members all receive Wings, the NGO’s main membership magazine, throughout the year, packed with bird identification features, wildlife-friendly gardening articles, conservation stories, photo montages, competitions and insights into nature. Family, Under-18s and School Members also receive Bird Detectives, BirdWatch Ireland’s children’s magazine.

On tonight’s programme, wearing his hat as Head of Communications and Development with BirdWatch Ireland, Niall Hatch takes us through some of the key features in the current Summer 2025 issues of both magazines, from an examination of the plight of the Twite and a wonderful new Sand Martin nesting bank in Trim, Co. Meath to Painted Lady butterfly migration and colour bingo.

For more information about Wings magazine, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/publications-list/publications-wings/

For more information about Bird Detectives magazine, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/publications-list/bird-detectives/

To become a member of BirdWatch Ireland, support its work and receive the magazines, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved/join-us-become-a-member/

Rambling Along the Royal Canal

Ireland’s historic Royal Canal, originally built in the late 1700s, is now home to the longest Greenway in the country, extending from Dublin to Longford. A haven for walkers and cyclists, this 146 km pathway provides a wonderful opportunity to discover the hidden treasures to be found in Ireland’s Midlands.

Author Tom Dredge is a man who knows the Royal Canal. In his lavishly illustrated new book, Rambling Along the Royal Canal: A Journey into the Heart of Ireland – both a guidebook and travelogue – he invites the reader to join him on his own personal Camino as he explores the entire route of the Royal Canal from the River Liffey to the River Shannon.

On tonight’s programme, Tom speaks to Éanna Ní Lamhna about this historic and nature-rich waterway, some of the highlights of his journey and the local residents who enthusiastically share their experiences and tall tales of living by the Royal Canal.

For more information about Rambling Along the Royal Canal: A Journey into the Heart of Ireland, published by The Liffey Press, visit https://theliffeypress.com/rambling-along-the-royal-canal-a-journey-into-the-heart-of-ireland.html