A fascinating, new documentary examining 26 different species of whale and dolphin in Irish waters, ranging from the porpoise to the blue whale, is to be screened on TG4 and their will be a significant Kerry contribution.
Fathaigh na Farraige – Giants of the Sea – will air on TG4 Wednesday September 18 at 9.30pm.
It will unearth Ireland’s little-known whaling past, from the establishment of Ireland’s first whaling-station in 1780 by Donegal man Thomas Nesbitt, who was the inventor of the swivel gun-harpoon, to a Norwegian-owned industrial whaling-station set up on the Iniskea Islands off the coast of Mayo.
Filmed in some of the country’s most spectacular locations, including the Blasket Island, the programme will explore the complex relationship with sharks and cetaceans that swim in Irish waters, the history of hunting them for food and profit, to today’s efforts at conserving their populations.
Joanne O’Brien, a lecturer and researcher at ATU and member of the IWDG, and Andrew Shine from the IWDG have contributed to the Fathaigh na Farraige as have Mick Sheeran from Ceann Trá of the Blasket Island Eco Marine Tours and Tomás Ó Luing, Ionad an Bhlascaoid Mhóir.
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