Panel: Éanna Ní Lamhna, Richard Collins, Niall Hatch and Ken Whelan
In addition to listening to us on RTÉ Radio 1 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.
April 1st No Fools Day For Salmon Of Knowledge
Marine Biologist Ken Whelan, Vice President of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, chats to the panel about how Christmas Day and April 1st (which is co-incidentally his birthday!) are so important in the life cycle of Salmon...
Mermaid's Purse Discovered By Schoolboy In Co. Kerry
Known as the 'Ghost of the Sea' for its pale underside and its disappearance from the world's ocean, the White Skate has vanished from much of its former range between the British Isles and South Africa. But an important discovery made recently by a 6th class student in County Kerry provides important evidence that the elusive White Skate - a predator that can grow up to two metres in length - is using Kerry’s coastal bays as a primary nursery ground.
Rocco Stallard, from Aughacasla National School, discovered a giant "Mermaid’s Purse" on Camp Beach. The rare egg case capsule measured over 16cm long – and over 30cm long when you include its "horns".
Rocco was taking part in a Healthy Ocean School project which is held by the Marine Institute. Ken Whelan tells us exactly how significant this discovery is this...
Sightings, photos and information on Mermaid's purses can be recorded at: https://marinedimensions.ie/purse-search-sightings-form/. This Autumn, Ken will be involved in a Saltwater Detective Course in Louth, during which participants will be collecting mermaid purses to identify sharks and rays. They will be using adult versions of these wonderful children's courses: Explorers Programme: the Marine Institute. To listen back to a previous Mooney Goes Wild report on this from 2023, click here.
For more information about Dr. Ken Whelan and his work, visit www.kenwhelan.info.
Blue Tits, Cuckoos and Woodpeckers
We received an e-mail to mooney@rte.ie from listener Helena Golden in Leitrim, aka the Willow Woman! She joins us on the line to tell us about her passion for weaving using natural materials, her Blue Tit nest box camera (click here to view it: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1509923397416673), and the cuckoo and woodpecker she has heard recently...
Nature On One: Talking Birds (Bank Holiday Monday, May 4th 2026 at midday)
Corkonians Jim Wilson and Seán Ronayne share a lifelong passion for birds and for the wild places that shaped them. Both grew up in Cobh on the Great Island, just a short stroll from each other and only minutes from Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve, the place that first sparked their fascination with the natural world. In this Nature on One special, Jim and Seán guide listeners on a walk through Cuskinny, exploring its mosaic of habitats and revealing the rich web of birdlife that thrives there.
Along the way, Seán talks about his ongoing project to eavesdrop on the creatures of the reserve. Over the course of a year, he will attempt to record all its natural sounds and capture the unique acoustic fingerprint of this oasis of wilderness in the heart of Cork Harbour. Together, Jim and Seán reflect on why Cuskinny became their gateway into nature and why precious places like this matter now more than ever.
Dawn Chorus - RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ lyric fm | Sunday, May 3rd 2026 | 00:00 - 07:00
Nature lovers, night owls, early risers and curious minds are invited to experience one of RTÉ's most evocative broadcasts of the year, the Dawn Chorus, marking International Dawn Chorus Day, on Sunday, May 3rd 2026.
It is a day when millions of people around the world set their alarms, pausing to listen as the planet awakens through birdsong. From midnight to 7.00am, RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ lyric fm join this global moment, offering seven uninterrupted hours of live birdsong, observation, insight and music, capturing the instant Ireland stirs and daylight gently takes hold.
For more information, click here.
Swallows And Wrens
We recently received an e-mail from listener Madeline Carey in Co. Clare, who wrote:
Having welcomed swallows to my garage each year for the last 35 years I have a different visitor at the moment. A wren has taken over a swallow's nest with green moss and twigs now placed over it. I've just read that wrens can attack eggs and fledglings of swallows and I'm wondering if I can do anything to avoid this before they arrive.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Our panel give Madeline their thoughts on this invading wren!