Travel Tales with Fergal

My wonderful guest is Kevin Flanagan, from the brilliant travel podcast The Top Travel destinations with Kevin Flanagan, which I highly recommend. Kevin is a travel writer for the Sunday Independent, a best selling author and documentary maker, actor and ballet dancer so a true renaissance man. But what really shines throughout this episode as we meander around the world is Kevin’s passion for tra...

The 2nd Connemara Destination episode is an interview with Henry Hodgson from Currarevagh House, whose family were founding members of Ireland’s Blue Book collection, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Currarevagh House is an early Victorian Country House, set in 180 acres of private parkland and woodland bordering on Lough Corrib. Visit here https://currarevagh.com The Wild Atlantic Way,...

The Wild Atlantic Way, which stretches from Donegal to Cork, over 2,500 winding kms of glorious scenery, beaches, villages and hotels, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and we will be interviewing famous hoteliers along this world famous route over the coming months.  The first two Connemara Destination episodes focus on Connemara with interviews with two hoteliers Brian McEvilly...

Our guest Tomas Mac an t-Saoir has spent the past eight years – on and off – cycling around the world taking in parts of the United States, journeying from the top of Africa from Egypt to South Africa and tackling the breadth of Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. For his most recent adventure, he pedalled from India to the UAE, passing the Himalayan peaks of Pakistan through the Tali...

Irishman Dermot Cosgrove lived the life of an old school adventurer by leaving home as a teenager to join the mythical French Foreign Legion before the Gulf War. Dermot served in some of the most dangerous conflict zones during the 90's in the Middle East and Africa. He has since worked as a security consultant in many conflict zones around the world. He takes us through his life from the arduous...

I am delighted to say that my first guest of Season 6 is the legendary Irish adventurer Damian Browne, who was my very first guest on Season 1. Damian talks about his New York to Galway row and the subsequent documentary Man v Ocean which Damien is currently touring as a one man play around Ireland. Please subscribe or follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode this year and you won't want to...

Check out my review of 2023 with my travel buddy Eimer. If you haven’t already I'd ask you to give me a follow on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts and you will be the first to get a new episode. Fergal O’Keeffe is the host of Ireland’s No.1 Travel Podcast Travel Tales with Fergal which is now listened to in over 120 countries worldwide. The podcast aims to share soul-lifting tra...

I am interviewed today my Eimer my travel buddy all about our trip to the Turkish Turquoise or Lycian Coast. The blue-green hues of the sparkling sea of the Turkish Riviera has deservedly earned its moniker “the Turquoise Coast”. In fact, the word turquoise comes from the French word for Turkish. Turkey offers unique attractions where east meets west and the ancient meets modern. Everywhere you go...

As we close out the year I chat about my fvourite travel books and as often happens on my travel slot on Clare FM I went off on many tangents. Keep an eye out next week for my espidoe on the Turkish Riviera and the annual end of yerar review. If you haven’t already I'd ask you to give me a follow on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts and you will be the first to get a new episode. Ferg...

My guest today is Longford native Senator Micheál Garrigy, Seanad Spokesperson on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, and Media and previously the Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council. He is also chairperson of the County Longford Tourism Committee so the perfect guest to tell us now all about what Longford has to offer for tourists with its rich history, literature & culture. There are many mo...

This episode is a Ski Special from Adelboden in Switzerland. Switzerland is the quintessential postcard image of a ski country that most people have of picturesque traditional villages in pine forest filled valleys surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Adelboden is a very traditional town with farming still the main source of income and this gives it the feel of a real lived in town rather than a touri...

This episode is all about Irish romantic getaways and I picked three very special venues from Ireland’s Blue Book that are all the epitome of romance with two castles with four poster beds and a Georgian town house. They are Barberstown Castle in Kildare, Tubbrid Castle in Kilkenny and 1 Pery Square in Limerick. My first guest is Ted Robinson from Barberstown Castle in Straffan, Co Kildare. This 1...

I am interviewed today by my wife and travel buddy Eimer for my Season 4 finale. We do a review of my travels this year and look forward to next year. I want to thank all my listeners in over 100 countries worldwide and I look forward to sharing more travel adventures, destination specials and interviews with great guests in 2023. Take care and safe travels. If you haven’t already I'd ask you to g...

 Welcome to part two of my County Clare destination specials. When you ask a Clare person for recommendations and tips it is always a long list. That is why I had to do two County Clare destinations specials to help do justice this this stunning county on the west coast of Ireland.   In part two today you will first hear Clare county councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, the Mayor of Ennis,...

I grew up in Ennis in Co. Clare and I have always noticed when anyone asks me “where am I from” and I reply “Clare’, that it brings a smile to their face which in turn fills me with pride. I don’t think I have ever met a Clare person that doesn’t love Clare.   When you ask a Clare person for recommendations and tips it is always a long list. That is why I recorded two County Clare destination...

Today’s episode is a West Cork Destination Special and I love doing destination specials in Ireland as the real passion Irish people have for their home areas always shines through.  I interviewed two hoteliers from the Clonakilty area to give us an overview of the area with local tips and recommendations. My first interviewee is Michael O’Neill from Fernhill House and Gardens Hotel, who is a...

As you can imagine I have many places on my travel bucket list, and I got to finally visit Granada in Andalucía in southern Spain this month, which was at the very top of that list. The city did not disappoint, and I had very high expectations.   I really wanted to go to Granada to see the final capital of Moorish Spain and learn about history from the Moorish perspective and their influence...

My very special guest today is Triona O’Mahoney from Munster Vales, which is the tourist brand of the five mountain ranges between the Comeragh, Knockmealdown, Galtee, Ballyhoura and Nagles mountain ranges. These five mountain ranges incorporate nine heritage sites and 1,100km of over 90 marked walking trails and provide a mix of outdoor recreational activities including walking, cycling and angli...

This is a Greece special episode focusing on my recent trip to the Halkidiki region in northern Greece.  The Halkidiki region is made up of three peninsulas or fingers with something for all types of travellers. The first finger is called Kassandra and is the most developed for tourism with glitzy hotels and huge nightclubs that would give Ibiza a run for its money. The middle finger is Sitho...

My guest is the acclaimed bestselling author John Connell, who has written a trilogy of autobiographical books which have been described as love letters to his home county of Longford. John has just released The Stream of Everything which is about a canoe trip down the Camlin river in Longford with a friend. This stunning book is a meditation on the simple beauty of nature and a celebration of the...

I have a destination special episode today on the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. I had never been to Derry and it is such a novelty to go to a new place that is both very familiar but also very different to my experiences of other holidays in Ireland. For lovers of history and entertainment, it is the perfect city for a break. By day you can visit the many great museums like the Guildhall. &nb...

I have a Center of Portugal Destination Special for final episode of Season 3 of Travel Tales with Fergal. I visited the centre of Portugal in September and what really shone through for me was the natural friendliness of the inhabitants of this stunning mountainous region between Lisbon and Porto. The landscape of the centre of Portugal continuously changes from the endless Atlantic surf beaches...

I have a great guest today for people who are interested in adventurous travel off the beaten track. My guest is Thom Breathnach who is the travel editor of the Irish Examiner. So it was fascinating to see what 5 places would Thom pick from his travels all around the world. Thom shares great tales to American, Iran, South Africa and Switzerland and many more places in between. Thom is very much in...

I have a very special guest today - the brilliant Irish American comedian Des Bishop who shares with us the five places that have most influenced him on his travels. Des Bishop’s latest stand up show is called Mia Mamma and it is a comic and dramatic exploration of his mother Eileen’s passing in 2019. The show explores sadness and grief through humour and is full of love, affection and hope. The s...

I spent 20 wonderful days on the Annapurna Circuit through trekking from village to village through mist-covered valleys, remote villages and sacred monasteries in the Nepalese Himalayas in 2000. That experience has given me a deep appreciation of Nepal, the Sherpas and the climbers who attempt the greatest mountain of them all - Everest. Since then, I have always been fascinated with stories of E...