Ear to the Ground 29
2021/2022
Programme 11
Thursday 20th January, RTÉ One – 7pm,
Gun Lead
A decision by the European Union and the Irish Government to ban the use of lead ammunition over wetlands would have far reaching implications for gun owners. Darragh McCullough spent the day in Tipperary finding out more about the impact the ban would have on those who use guns for sport and for work in the Irish countryside.
Howth Goats
For centuries animals grazed upland areas and by eating back the heather and the furze they also helped to prevent fires. Every Summer fires break out on mountains, having a devastating impact on the environment, homes and lives. Nowhere was this more noticeable than on Howth Head, where fires burned for 6 weeks last year. Now, in an attempt to prevent that from happening again, a group of goats from the West of Ireland have been brought to Dublin to go to work as firefighters. Helen Carroll spent the day with them and their herder Melissa Jeuken.
Jar In The Wall
Pat Chambers had viewed at an old shed on his farm for years as a scar on his sheep farm in the beautiful Nephin Beg Mountains in Mayo. He thought he’d just knock it down and build a new one but then heard about a grant from The Heritage Council that could be put towards restoration. It was only when builders started the conservation work that they came across a jar hidden deep in a wall. The jar was filled with documents from the War of Independence and the Civil War. Ella Mc Sweeney went along to meet Pat and learn more about both the contents of the jar, and the man who hid it.
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