Feather & Flock
Winner of the Gold Award in the Specialist Speech programme category at the 2024 IMRO awards.
Feather and Flock is a six-part series about some of Ireland’s most iconic breeding birds. Each episode combines ecology, folklore and music to uncover the incredible lives and journeys of these wild creatures. Presenters Anja Murray and Brían Mac Gloinn hear from biologists, behavioural ecologists, folklorists, a poet, linguistic experts and others in an exploration of each bird and its place in Irish culture. The series is soundtracked with immersive on-location recordings from Brían Mac Gloinn and series collaborator Seán Ronayne of Irish Wildlife Sounds, along with avian themed folk music and original compositions by Brían Mac Gloinn and friends. Episodes 1 to 3 were broadcast earlier this year and are available from the Lyric Feature page of the RTÉ website.
Episode 6: Eagles
Ireland has white tailed sea eagles as well as golden eagles, both having been recently reintroduced. In this episode Anja Murray and Brían Mac Gloinn travel to Garinish Island in West Cork to see a young White-tailed sea Eagle on the nest, being fed fish by its parents, and hear from National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger Clare Heardman about the nesting and breeding habits of these enormous birds as well as the efforts involved in the reintroduction programme.
The rich cultural associations with Eagles in Irish place names and in folklore are explored with Lorcan O Toole of the Golden Eagle Reintroduction project, where they watch a pair of golden eagles soaring over the mountains of Glenveagh National Park.
We hear music from harper Laoise Kelly, featuring Fead an Iolar (The Eagle’s Whistle) a very ancient Irish tune. We also hear a new song from Brían written and performed in collaboration with Ye Vagabonds bandmate Alain McFadden.
Presenters: Anja Murray and Brían Mac Gloinn
Produced by: Anja Murray
Original score and songs by Brían Mac Gloinn
Sound Design & Editing: Brían Mac Gloinn
Series Producer: Eoin O Kelly
Production Co-Ordinator: Michael O’Kane
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 10th November, 6pm-7pm
