Mooney Goes Wild

Ireland’s historic Royal Canal, originally built in the late 1700s, is now home to the longest Greenway in the country which extends from Dublin to Longford. Author Tom Dredge speaks to Éanna Ní Lamhna about his new book about the waterway, 'Rambling Along the Royal Canal: A Journey into the Heart of Ireland.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global Action Plan is an environmental charity that guides people on a journey of discovery to reconnect us with nature and with one another. Terry Flanagan, met with Hans Zomer, CEO of GAP, and Niamh Ní Iceadha, the charity’s Education Officer, in the organisation’s Ballymun GLAS gardens, where they outlined some of their initiatives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the course of the summer, we received lots of positive emails from listeners about improved butterfly numbers. Terry Flanagan met lepidopterist Jesmond Harding of Butterfly Conservation Ireland to find out whether our optimism this year is justified. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BirdWatch Ireland is Ireland’s largest wildlife conservation charity, with a nationwide membership of over 15,000. Those members all receive Wings, the NGO’s main membership magazine, and the children's edition, Bird Detectives. Niall Hatch takes us through the key issues in both magazines this summer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brendan Fitzpatrick sent a voice note to tell us about an interesting music festival. This summer, Co. Wicklow is alive with the sound of Ancient Music in the Forest, a festival celebrating ancient, traditional and early music in the natural forest amphitheatre at Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary, Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ornithologist, author and regular contributor Eric Dempsey has had Sparrowhawks on his mind too. In recent days, a newly fledged hawk has taken up residence close to his house in Co. Wicklow and has literally been screaming loudly for its parents to bring it food. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among her many credits, Éanna Ní Lamhna is a celebrated and prolific natural history author, with many books under her belt. One of the most popular of those books is 'Wild Dublin – Exploring Nature in the City', which was first published in 2008. Excitingly, Éanna tells us that an updated second edition will soon be published. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of the most popular urban-dwelling creatures you may encounter at home or during your commute are the Red Fox and the Sparrowhawk. These two species just so happen to be the subjects of one of Ireland's largest street art projects at the Aviva Stadium. Terry, Richard and Niall decided to take a DART to the area to investigate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight’s episode of Mooney Goes Wild is a bit different. We decided to send Terry Flanagan and Niall Hatch off on a very special mission...to travel to Rathfarnham in Dublin and get up close and personal with the nocturnal Irish predators that visit Martin's back garden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breda Kelly wrote to us recently about her garden in Ballinteer, Dublin. She has a diverse garden... but apparently a total lack of bees. In fact, she notes that all other insects are “as rare as hen’s teeth” in her garden. Our panellists discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The forests of Britain and Ireland not only fuelled their indigenous populations, but also the Romans, Anglo Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Tonight, Éanna chats to biologist Jonathan Mullard, who is the author of a recently published book entitled 'Forgotten Forests: Twelve Thousand Years of British and Irish Woodlands'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recent development has turned much of what scientists believed about the origin of feathers on its head. We are delighted to speak with Prof. Maria McNamara and Dr Valentina Rossi from UCC’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences about an amazing fossil discovery in France. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Breda may be lacking insects around her home, Niall tells us that he has the opposite problem at the moment: Common Wasps are nesting in a cavity below the front door of his house. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While at the Global Birdfair in Rutland, England, Niall was delighted to bump into a good friend of ours here at Mooney Goes Wild: Dr Seán McCormack. Niall spoke to Seán about the Ealing Beaver Project at the wonderfully named Paradise Fields, and the 'gay icon' Peregrine Falcons at Ealing Hospital. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every July, the English county of Rutland plays host to the Global Birdfair, the world’s largest annual celebration of birds. Naturally, Niall Hatch was in attendance and is here to tell us more about the event and play some interviews he did with Ryan Chenery and Chandika Jayaratne. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is much more to mayflies than might meet the eye. They are fascinating creatures with a complex lifecycle that is largely hidden from human eyes. Regular contributor Dr Ken Whelan has made a special documentary on them which went out on August 4th and can be heard on the website. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Flapper Skate is the largest species of skate in the world, clocking in at up to 2.5 metres in length. Sadly, they have been classified globally as “critically endangered”. In May, two Flapper Skates washed ashore in Co. Mayo and Louise Overy, Wildlife Biology Lecturer at Munster Technical University, was able to study it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From August 29- 31 2025, the International Conference on Basking Sharks will take place at Atlantic Technological University in Galway. Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Basking Shark 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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah wishes her 87-year-old father, a longtime listener of Mooney Goes Wild and birdwatcher, happy birthday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Derek was a child, he remembers hurleys made from plastic. Tonight, he's rediscovered an RTÉ report from 1977 on the unusual alternative to the traditional ash stick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We recently received an email from Joan Mulvany in West Cork, and it contained videos of a mother and baby bat. The panel discuss bats in Ireland before Terry's report on a Bat Hospital in Limerick, run by Susan KirwanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ken Whelan brings us worrying news about two recent oil spills in Laois and Dublin that have caused pollution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ash Dieback Disease has become a significant blight on the tree and is affecting supply for hurleys. However, research from Kew Gardens may give hope. Éanna speaks to Professor Richard Buggs, Senior Research Leader at Kew Gardens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.