1 00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:03,519 (WATER GENTLY LAPPING) 2 00:00:07,319 --> 00:00:09,639 (TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYING ON FIDDLE) 3 00:00:13,959 --> 00:00:15,839 (WAVES BREAKING) 4 00:00:16,919 --> 00:00:18,799 Off Ireland's west coast, 5 00:00:18,919 --> 00:00:22,359 lie some of the most remote islands in Europe. 6 00:00:25,639 --> 00:00:29,559 For Europeans, they were the very edge of the world. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,720 Impossible rocks, sought out by a handful of humans 8 00:00:32,839 --> 00:00:35,079 looking for God, and wild creatures 9 00:00:35,199 --> 00:00:37,479 in search of shelter and food. 10 00:00:40,279 --> 00:00:43,199 Today, the humans may be long gone, 11 00:00:43,319 --> 00:00:46,359 their ancient churches and homes deserted. 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,600 But nature has moved in. 13 00:00:50,559 --> 00:00:52,959 (FLUTE PLAYING TRADITIONAL MELODY) 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:57,920 My name is Eoin Warner 15 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,240 and I've spent my life travelling the length of Ireland 16 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:02,360 in search of its precious wild places 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,760 and the elusive animals that make them their home. 18 00:01:05,919 --> 00:01:07,439 (GROANING) 19 00:01:07,559 --> 00:01:08,919 (SPLASHING) 20 00:01:09,879 --> 00:01:11,959 I'm now in the far south 21 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,760 and final stage of my Atlantic adventures, 22 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,840 exploring the hidden worlds 23 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,239 that are Ireland's Wild Islands. 24 00:01:22,839 --> 00:01:24,359 (MUSIC INTENSIFYING) 25 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:26,720 (BELLOWING) 26 00:01:29,919 --> 00:01:31,759 (MUSIC FADES) 27 00:01:39,839 --> 00:01:41,359 (WATER RUMBLING) 28 00:01:50,879 --> 00:01:53,879 I'm heading south, always south, 29 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,040 the mountains of Kerry 30 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,160 and the Dingle Peninsula on the horizon. 31 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,600 You have to be very careful when you come 32 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:07,600 to this part of the world, because you just fall 33 00:02:07,639 --> 00:02:09,319 under a spell. 34 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,280 The people, the language, the music, 35 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:14,560 the landscape, its beauty. 36 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,840 And for me I think, the Dingle peninsula 37 00:02:16,959 --> 00:02:19,079 and all of these islands, 38 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:21,399 they're like every part of this country that I love, 39 00:02:21,519 --> 00:02:23,799 distilled into one tiny, little corner. 40 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,040 I'm into the third and final stage of my island odyssey. 41 00:02:36,239 --> 00:02:39,159 I began on Rathlin, off Ireland's north-east coast, 42 00:02:39,279 --> 00:02:41,599 and worked my way west and south. 43 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,280 This final stage will bring me around Kerry's magical islands 44 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,480 before hitting my home county, Cork, 45 00:02:48,599 --> 00:02:50,839 and the end of my adventure. 46 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,320 South of Clare, 47 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,240 the Dingle peninsula guards the approaches to Kerry. 48 00:02:58,239 --> 00:03:02,119 And the first islands you bump into are The Maharees. 49 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,520 This is Illauntannig, 50 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:14,719 the island of Saint Seanach 51 00:03:14,839 --> 00:03:16,799 and, sure enough, Illauntannig is home 52 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:18,719 to an early Christian monastery, 53 00:03:18,839 --> 00:03:20,679 said to have been founded by the saint himself 54 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,000 in the 6th century. 55 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,760 Almost nothing else is known about him, 56 00:03:26,879 --> 00:03:29,039 but his monastery walls still stand 57 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,600 after more than a thousand years of Atlantic storms. 58 00:03:33,879 --> 00:03:35,879 (MANDOLIN PLAYING) 59 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,640 Kerry's early Christian monks were legendary seafarers 60 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:46,880 and it's somehow fitting that, today, 61 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,320 these islands are host to the greatest travellers 62 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:51,880 in the entire animal kingdom. 63 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,160 (CAWING) 64 00:03:55,879 --> 00:03:59,439 Every spring, Arctic and Common Terns 65 00:03:59,559 --> 00:04:01,519 leave the Southern Hemisphere 66 00:04:01,639 --> 00:04:04,599 and fly halfway round the planet to rear their chicks 67 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:06,840 on the safe grounds of the Maharees. 68 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,360 Closely related, they're hard to tell apart. 69 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,600 Common terns have black tipped beaks, 70 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,960 while those of their Arctic cousins 71 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:18,040 are bright red right to the end. 72 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,000 Any of these Arctic terns will travel 73 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,840 up to 70,000kms in one year. 74 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,960 Right down to the Antarctic Peninsula and back again - 75 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,280 the longest migration of any animal on earth. 76 00:04:34,519 --> 00:04:36,919 Like that is just mind boggling. 77 00:04:38,319 --> 00:04:40,079 (CAWING) 78 00:04:41,239 --> 00:04:44,239 And they spend their lives in this perpetual migration 79 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,160 between the Northern Hemisphere and its summer 80 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,439 down to the Southern Hemisphere and its summer. 81 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,440 All of that amazing journey starts here, 82 00:04:55,559 --> 00:04:58,159 on a little island off the Maharees peninsula. 83 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,240 ♪ 84 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,800 Both species mate in April and May 85 00:05:10,919 --> 00:05:13,319 and the eggs are laid in the days after. 86 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:21,160 (SQUEAKING CALL) 87 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,079 They're also very brave parents, 88 00:05:23,199 --> 00:05:25,119 they're very defensive of their chicks 89 00:05:25,239 --> 00:05:27,639 and they have no problem in harassing a much larger bird 90 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:29,720 if they get too close. 91 00:05:33,879 --> 00:05:36,079 (TRILLING, CAWING) 92 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,480 This Oystercatcher seems to be just looking for trouble. 93 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,359 But the chick's best survival strategy 94 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:57,360 is to stay well hidden. 95 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,279 ♪ 96 00:06:08,639 --> 00:06:10,479 And as soon as the parents come back 97 00:06:10,599 --> 00:06:12,439 with their sand eels in their mouths, 98 00:06:12,559 --> 00:06:14,599 they come rushing out for a feed. 99 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,760 (CHIRPING) 100 00:06:25,919 --> 00:06:27,559 ♪ 101 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,960 The reason these amazing birds are here 102 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,040 is because of our long summer days, 103 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,360 they need those days to gather as much fish as possible 104 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,480 to feed their young, to fledge them quickly 105 00:06:48,599 --> 00:06:50,759 for that long, incredible journey 106 00:06:50,879 --> 00:06:52,839 back down to the Antarctic. 107 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:58,840 And that's the crazy thing about these birds 108 00:06:58,959 --> 00:07:01,919 and these huge migrations, is that no one shows them 109 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,360 where to go or why they should go there. 110 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,560 And they're the mysteries in nature 111 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,960 that I don't think we'll ever understand fully 112 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,720 why or how it happens. And maybe that's better. 113 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:14,760 But it's no less amazing. 114 00:07:19,559 --> 00:07:21,119 (LOUD CHIRPING) 115 00:07:28,879 --> 00:07:31,399 So often, when you look at the ocean 116 00:07:31,519 --> 00:07:33,639 and that featureless surface, 117 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,480 it can seem so empty, devoid of life. 118 00:07:37,919 --> 00:07:40,519 But then that minor miracle occurs. 119 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,160 Push your face through that mirror 120 00:07:45,279 --> 00:07:48,039 and a whole garden of Eden is revealed. 121 00:07:53,279 --> 00:07:55,319 The waters around the Maharees 122 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,640 are renowned for their abundant life. 123 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:04,719 Like everywhere intensive fishing has taken its toll. 124 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,320 But these backwaters of Tralee Bay 125 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,080 are still home to some very special creatures. 126 00:08:12,199 --> 00:08:15,599 Remarkable survivors that have changed very little 127 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,160 since dinosaurs ruled the earth. 128 00:08:20,599 --> 00:08:22,599 (SLOSHING) 129 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,520 Stingrays. 130 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,520 At high tides near the full moons of summer, 131 00:08:31,639 --> 00:08:34,119 they come in from the deep to breed, 132 00:08:34,239 --> 00:08:38,359 cruising these shallow waters in complete silence. 133 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:42,880 At the very base of the tail, 134 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,040 you can see the barb, their defensive weapon, 135 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,280 and that's where they get their name. 136 00:08:53,959 --> 00:08:57,119 Their sting is extremely painful, 137 00:08:57,239 --> 00:08:59,479 but if you keep your distance, there's little to fear 138 00:08:59,599 --> 00:09:02,719 for these are shy and gentle creatures. 139 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:06,760 And they're in danger. 140 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,080 Worldwide, their numbers are plummeting from overfishing. 141 00:09:12,919 --> 00:09:16,439 A sad story for remarkable survivors 142 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,719 that have been around for 150 million years or more. 143 00:09:22,959 --> 00:09:25,559 This place is so special, 144 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,080 to them and to so many other ray and skate species. 145 00:09:28,199 --> 00:09:31,639 They're here because Tralee Bay is a sanctuary for them. 146 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,480 They're protected. There's no tangle nets here. 147 00:09:35,599 --> 00:09:38,159 Protection works, legislation works, 148 00:09:38,279 --> 00:09:41,039 people's action works. And it's not about 149 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,600 the next generation or the younger generation. 150 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,480 Each one of us is complicit 151 00:09:46,599 --> 00:09:48,559 in the changes that are happening, 152 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,160 each one of us can make a difference. 153 00:09:52,319 --> 00:09:54,039 (GURGLING) 154 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:03,280 ♪ 155 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,160 It's funny how, you know, mountains are always measured 156 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:13,159 in feet above sea level, 157 00:10:13,279 --> 00:10:14,999 but you really rarely ever see one 158 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,720 coming up straight out of the sea like this. 159 00:10:19,839 --> 00:10:23,479 The whole immense size of Mount Brandon. 160 00:10:25,959 --> 00:10:30,639 Brandon's named after St. Brendan the Navigator, 161 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,520 who set off to find the New World to the west 162 00:10:33,639 --> 00:10:35,879 from just round the corner at Brandon's Creek. 163 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,439 (MUSIC BURSTING) 164 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,400 Today, Brendan is the patron saint of the US Navy 165 00:10:44,519 --> 00:10:47,919 and Christopher Columbus is said to have consulted his voyages 166 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,480 before his own trans-Atlantic adventures. 167 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,560 The ancient texts describe Brendan reaching Arctic islands 168 00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:59,280 of ice and fire in the 6th century. 169 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,880 Some claim he was the first European 170 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,080 to reach North America itself. 171 00:11:06,319 --> 00:11:08,199 Early in the voyage, 172 00:11:08,319 --> 00:11:10,679 Brendan stopped to rest on a small island. 173 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,600 Lighting a fire, he soon discovered 174 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:15,880 he wasn't on an island at all - 175 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,240 but the back of a giant beast. 176 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,600 (POWERFUL WHOOSHING) 177 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:24,080 ♪ 178 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,560 Today, some of the largest whales on the planet 179 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,000 still visit these waters off County Kerry. 180 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,320 The fin whale is the second largest creature 181 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,560 to have ever lived. 182 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,280 (POWERFUL WHOOSHING) 183 00:11:47,239 --> 00:11:49,159 Big whales like deep water, 184 00:11:49,279 --> 00:11:53,079 and out here the seabed quickly drops to 100 metres or more, 185 00:11:53,199 --> 00:11:56,599 which is why these fin whales can be seen so close to land. 186 00:12:04,959 --> 00:12:07,239 One minute they dominate the waves, 187 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,520 their loud blows jetting 8 metres into the air. 188 00:12:17,599 --> 00:12:20,599 Seconds later they're gone, 189 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,040 the ocean empty and silent. 190 00:12:27,239 --> 00:12:28,799 (GENTLE RIPPLING) 191 00:12:37,599 --> 00:12:41,719 In my mid-teens, I was sent to the Dingle Peninsula 192 00:12:41,839 --> 00:12:44,839 to learn Irish by my mother. 193 00:12:44,959 --> 00:12:47,439 It was my first time actually seeing the Irish language 194 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:49,559 spoken as a community language - 195 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:51,760 spoken by old people, by young people. 196 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:54,800 (MUSIC RISING) 197 00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:59,760 I found an affinity with the Irish language 198 00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:01,799 when I came here that time, 199 00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:04,059 and I always promised myself that I would learn it properly, 200 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,120 someday. So in my mid twenties, 201 00:13:06,239 --> 00:13:08,759 I left my career and came down 202 00:13:08,879 --> 00:13:11,439 and I spent a year in a cottage. 203 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:13,359 And I never thought at the time 204 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,360 how it would impact the rest of my life. 205 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:17,880 But there I met my wife and... 206 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,880 And it's funny how one year in your life 207 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,440 can change the rest of your journey. 208 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,679 (MYSTICAL MELODY PLAYING ON FLUTE) 209 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,600 Almost every day of that year, 210 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,560 I walked this coast 211 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:38,080 haunted by some brooding characters just offshore. 212 00:13:42,919 --> 00:13:44,679 Until 70 years ago, 213 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,440 the Blasket Islands were one of the last true outposts 214 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:49,959 of an ancient Gaelic culture. 215 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,960 Home to a community of native Irish speakers, 216 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,880 whose language and stories were some of the last whispers 217 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,080 from a fast-fading world. 218 00:14:04,919 --> 00:14:07,039 Those people are gone now, 219 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,240 and today the Great Blasket Island 220 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,080 is home to one of Ireland's greatest wildlife spectacles. 221 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:21,520 At first glance, it looks almost like a pile of rocks. 222 00:14:24,199 --> 00:14:26,839 Then the rock begins to move. 223 00:14:27,959 --> 00:14:30,399 (LIVELY TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYING) 224 00:14:33,239 --> 00:14:36,879 There can be a thousand grey seals hauled up on this beach. 225 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,960 It's like a scene from Antarctica. 226 00:14:43,879 --> 00:14:47,479 They spend up to two thirds of their lives out in the ocean - 227 00:14:47,599 --> 00:14:49,919 but twice a year they have to come ashore, 228 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,680 to mate, give birth, and moult. 229 00:14:57,599 --> 00:14:59,679 (FLAPPING) (GROWLING) 230 00:15:01,839 --> 00:15:04,399 Grey seals have two layers of fur, 231 00:15:04,519 --> 00:15:06,799 which they must shed every year... 232 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,680 a hugely uncomfortable business. 233 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,480 (SHUFFLING) (GROANING) 234 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,200 They're so itchy and they just haven't got 235 00:15:19,319 --> 00:15:21,639 the limbs to scratch what they want to scratch. 236 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,040 You can see them arching themselves, 237 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,040 just trying to find that one patch that they can't reach. 238 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,080 and then they'll just resort 239 00:15:29,199 --> 00:15:31,319 to rubbing themselves in the sand again. 240 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,520 (SNORTING) 241 00:15:33,639 --> 00:15:35,639 (GROANING) 242 00:15:37,919 --> 00:15:39,719 You really see the conflict happening 243 00:15:39,839 --> 00:15:41,639 when the tide is filling, 244 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,480 because it's pushing the individuals 245 00:15:43,599 --> 00:15:45,399 further and further up the beach 246 00:15:45,519 --> 00:15:47,599 and there's less and less beach left there for them. 247 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,660 And you'll find in particular the big beach masters, 248 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:51,640 the big males are constantly snapping and snarling 249 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,640 at anything that comes near them. 250 00:15:55,519 --> 00:15:57,039 (SNARLING) 251 00:15:58,199 --> 00:15:59,999 And come breeding season, 252 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,320 all hell breaks loose. 253 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,400 (WAILING) 254 00:16:05,519 --> 00:16:07,639 (GRUNTING) 255 00:16:11,879 --> 00:16:14,319 (ROARING) 256 00:16:15,919 --> 00:16:17,319 (SNARLING) 257 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,040 (WAILING) 258 00:16:34,199 --> 00:16:37,399 It's easy to forget that most of these animals' lives 259 00:16:37,519 --> 00:16:39,919 are spent in or under the water. 260 00:16:44,559 --> 00:16:46,479 And it's that real torpedo shape 261 00:16:46,599 --> 00:16:48,479 that gives them huge manoeuvrability, 262 00:16:48,599 --> 00:16:51,119 but also speed and power under the water. 263 00:16:51,239 --> 00:16:52,959 And any time I go freediving, 264 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,400 I try to emulate that movement, try to mimic it, 265 00:16:55,519 --> 00:16:58,999 but unfortunately, I ain't no seal. 266 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,680 They don't just come here from Kerry or Cork, 267 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,760 they come from northern France, 268 00:17:07,879 --> 00:17:10,079 from the west coast of Scotland, all to these places, 269 00:17:10,199 --> 00:17:12,839 because this is one place, where they feel safe. 270 00:17:12,959 --> 00:17:15,519 And it's safe because there's no humans living here anymore. 271 00:17:16,959 --> 00:17:18,679 ♪ 272 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,960 Back in 1916, there were 176 people living on the island. 273 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,360 And you have to really respect the people who lived here. 274 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,680 That was a really, really hard graft. 275 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,680 They were completely isolated. 276 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,360 And ultimately, that's the reason 277 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,480 that people left this island. 278 00:17:43,239 --> 00:17:45,279 The vast majority of the islanders, 279 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,240 they went to Springfield, Massachusetts 280 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,120 in the United States. 281 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,520 You wonder how they would see the island now today, 282 00:17:54,639 --> 00:17:56,639 with their houses ruined 283 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,880 and the beach left to the seals. They couldn't imagine 284 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,920 this number of seals here. 285 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,720 (BELLOWING) 286 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,680 And to think that these animals were almost extinct, 287 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,680 a century ago. These were the first animals 288 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,880 where there was international legislation 289 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,120 brought in to conserve their numbers in 1914. 290 00:18:14,199 --> 00:18:16,239 Like this is just a national treasure, 291 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:18,240 absolute national treasure. 292 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,800 (WAVES CRASHING) 293 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,760 Just a few kilometres west of the Great Blasket, 294 00:18:36,879 --> 00:18:38,719 is Inis Mhic Uileáin, 295 00:18:38,839 --> 00:18:41,759 where just one family scraped a living out of the Atlantic. 296 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,600 (JAUNTY TUNE PLAYING ON MANDOLIN) 297 00:18:57,319 --> 00:18:59,439 Every island I've been to on this journey 298 00:18:59,559 --> 00:19:02,199 has its own personality, its own character. 299 00:19:02,319 --> 00:19:04,959 And this island, Inis Mhic Uileáin, is no different. 300 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:07,479 What's really special about it, 301 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:09,719 is that you're elevated at all times, 302 00:19:09,839 --> 00:19:12,119 which gives you the most amazing vistas. 303 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,560 And being on a small island, 304 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,040 you're just surrounded by the sea, 305 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,960 the constant sound of it. 306 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,960 You can taste the salt in the wind. 307 00:19:29,959 --> 00:19:31,839 (GULLS CALLING) 308 00:19:31,959 --> 00:19:33,919 (FIRE CRACKLING) 309 00:19:35,319 --> 00:19:37,239 The gulls are going to sleep, 310 00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:39,440 the last call of the evening. 311 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,240 This is the most westerly habitable island 312 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:53,000 where families were raised, in Europe. 313 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,080 Spending a night here on Inis Mhic Uileáin 314 00:19:55,199 --> 00:19:58,199 is such a privilege because so few people have ever lived here. 315 00:19:58,319 --> 00:20:00,799 The last people, the Ó Dálaigh's, 316 00:20:00,919 --> 00:20:03,119 they left in 1903. 317 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,040 They raised 10 children on this rock, 318 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,040 on the edge of the Atlantic. 319 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,280 One by one, all of their children 320 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,360 left for the new world, left for America. 321 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,960 This is splendid isolation, 322 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:22,160 and I feel so lucky to be part of it. 323 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:27,120 (GENTLE MELODY RISING) 324 00:20:33,919 --> 00:20:37,639 It's almost as if the landscape is unreal, 325 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,640 it's so perfect, so perfect. 326 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,200 (BELLOWING) 327 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:53,800 (LENGTHY BELLOWING) 328 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:00,040 (BELLOWING CONTINUES) 329 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,800 The calls of Red Deer have echoed across Ireland 330 00:21:06,919 --> 00:21:10,439 since the Stone Age - 5,000 years ago. 331 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:13,880 These are some of the last survivors 332 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,960 of the original bloodline. 333 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,120 Their numbers were decimated 334 00:21:18,239 --> 00:21:20,879 from deforestation and hunting by humans. 335 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,560 So much so that there was only about 70 animals left 336 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,480 in the 1960s, in Killarney National Park. 337 00:21:29,599 --> 00:21:31,639 There was a big danger, they would hybridise 338 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:33,840 with introduced sika deer. 339 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,280 And it was thought a really inventive idea 340 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,400 to bring these animals out to Inis Mhic Uileáin, 341 00:21:39,519 --> 00:21:41,479 where there would be a pool of their genetics here 342 00:21:41,599 --> 00:21:43,679 to repopulate the mainland if anything ever happened 343 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,720 to the Red Deer there 344 00:21:45,839 --> 00:21:47,719 through hybridization or disease. 345 00:21:47,839 --> 00:21:51,039 Only 13 animals were brought out here in the eighties. 346 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,560 And over that time, they've flourished. 347 00:22:01,519 --> 00:22:04,519 The stags this time of year are the most regal looking. 348 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:07,640 They're at the peak of their condition. 349 00:22:08,519 --> 00:22:10,159 (BELLOWING) 350 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:17,600 This is the rut - 351 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,040 this is what separates the men from the boys 352 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,440 as they compete for the females. 353 00:22:27,879 --> 00:22:29,879 (SLOSHING) 354 00:22:30,639 --> 00:22:34,039 Smell plays a vital part in the process. 355 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,200 Wallowing in mud helps spread 356 00:22:36,319 --> 00:22:39,679 the stag's masculine scent all over his body. 357 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:41,320 (GRUNTING) 358 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,040 At the end of the day, these animals don't want 359 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:51,920 to fight each other because if they fight, 360 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,520 there's a chance that they're gonna get injured 361 00:22:54,639 --> 00:22:56,699 or lose a lot of energy. So there's a lot of posturing 362 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:58,800 to see who is going to be the king of the island. 363 00:23:00,239 --> 00:23:02,519 (GRUNTING, BELLOWING) 364 00:23:06,519 --> 00:23:09,599 But when they do clash, it's serious. 365 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,760 (CLANGING) 366 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,080 ♪ 367 00:23:32,319 --> 00:23:34,439 (TRIUMPHANT BELLOW) 368 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,480 It's the females, the hinds, who pick their stags. 369 00:23:43,599 --> 00:23:45,759 They're the ones who are going to choose 370 00:23:45,879 --> 00:23:47,759 who's going to father their offspring. 371 00:23:47,879 --> 00:23:49,719 They're looking for the stag 372 00:23:49,839 --> 00:23:51,879 with the deepest bellow, who can bellow the longest, 373 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,600 who has the finest and largest set of antlers. 374 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,880 Only the strongest, fittest males 375 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,160 will mate and carry on their genetics 376 00:24:01,279 --> 00:24:03,399 for the next generation. 377 00:24:04,839 --> 00:24:07,039 (WAVES CRASHING) 378 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,320 (GULLS CALLING) 379 00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:16,399 To watch what must be 380 00:24:16,519 --> 00:24:19,239 one of Ireland's most beautiful animals 381 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,360 in one of the most spectacular settings... 382 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:25,280 ..it is just magical. 383 00:24:40,839 --> 00:24:43,439 The complete and utter wildness of this corner of Ireland. 384 00:24:43,559 --> 00:24:45,639 All you have to do is just take one look 385 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,120 at this whole landscape, how it's being cleaved 386 00:24:48,239 --> 00:24:50,679 and carved by the sea. 387 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,040 And strangely enough, this little corner 388 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:54,960 of the Dingle Peninsula 389 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,040 has probably the largest concentration 390 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,040 of wild mammals in the whole country. 391 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,120 (POWERFUL WHOOSHING) 392 00:25:02,559 --> 00:25:04,479 (GULLS CALLING) 393 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:10,520 A playground for some of the most 394 00:25:10,639 --> 00:25:12,639 impressive animals on Earth. 395 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,600 After a century on the edge of extinction, 396 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,920 humpback whales reappeared in Irish waters in 1999. 397 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,720 Since then, Kerry has become a hotspot 398 00:25:32,839 --> 00:25:35,359 for these wonderful animals. 399 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,200 They come here for the rich feeding. 400 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:41,760 (WHOOSHING) 401 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:48,560 (GULLS CRYING) 402 00:25:50,239 --> 00:25:52,879 Bubble netting is a favourite trick. 403 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,800 In a remarkable display 404 00:25:54,919 --> 00:25:57,439 of co-operation and intelligence, 405 00:25:57,559 --> 00:25:59,599 humpbacks will blow rings of bubbles 406 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,680 to trap the fish inside, 407 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,200 that then can then be scooped up in giant mouthfuls. 408 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:08,720 (WHISTLING) 409 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:19,160 (GULLS CRYING) 410 00:26:25,599 --> 00:26:27,519 (UNDERWATER CALM) 411 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,080 And what better way to round off a fine feed 412 00:26:39,199 --> 00:26:41,479 than a spot of pec-slapping. 413 00:26:42,839 --> 00:26:44,599 ♪ 414 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:51,600 Is this play or a message to a mate? 415 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:53,760 We may never know. 416 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,720 Always on the move, 417 00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:05,759 humpbacks can travel 8,000 kilometres a year 418 00:27:05,879 --> 00:27:07,759 up and down the Atlantic, 419 00:27:07,879 --> 00:27:09,959 between rich fishing off Norway 420 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,960 and their breeding grounds off Africa or the West Indies. 421 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:20,960 (PIANO PLAYING MELODY) 422 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,680 Since their reappearance at the turn of the century, 423 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:26,640 over 100 different humpbacks 424 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,640 have been recorded passing through these waters. 425 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,000 It is just wonderful to see them back. 426 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,360 We are on the very edge of Ireland. 427 00:27:55,559 --> 00:27:57,479 And up ahead of us, 428 00:27:57,599 --> 00:27:59,799 Sceilg Bheag and Sceilg Mhichíl. 429 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,520 (TINKLING MELODY ON PIANO) 430 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,280 "I tell you the thing doesn't belong to any world, 431 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,720 you and I have ever lived or worked in." 432 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,320 "It is part of our dream world." 433 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,880 George Bernard Shaw was right - 434 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,280 there is nowhere quite like Skellig. 435 00:28:39,559 --> 00:28:41,439 (HAUNTING VIOLIN MELODY PLAYING) 436 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,680 Two pinnacles of sandstone, 437 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,480 dropping sheer into the Atlantic. 438 00:28:50,519 --> 00:28:52,399 ♪ 439 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,920 When you come up on Sceilg Bheag at a distance, 440 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,360 you see this white haze around it. 441 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,560 And as you get close, you realise 442 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,880 that white haze is thousands and thousands of gannets. 443 00:29:07,839 --> 00:29:10,239 (FURIOUS CALLING) 444 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,120 50,000 gannets 445 00:29:18,239 --> 00:29:20,279 choosing this rock to nest and breed 446 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,600 and bring on the next generation. 447 00:29:23,919 --> 00:29:25,999 (CAWING, SQUAWKING) 448 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,200 And they're such a magnificent bird - 449 00:29:32,319 --> 00:29:34,399 almost 6 foot across in wingspan. 450 00:29:35,319 --> 00:29:38,319 And the colouration, the brightest of whites 451 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,480 blending into that beautiful kind of mustard yellow 452 00:29:41,599 --> 00:29:43,759 and those piercing blue eyes. 453 00:29:44,879 --> 00:29:46,559 (GANNETS CALLING) 454 00:29:48,839 --> 00:29:51,439 Sceilg Bheag or "Little Skellig", 455 00:29:51,559 --> 00:29:54,119 is one of the largest gannet colonies in the world. 456 00:29:56,519 --> 00:29:58,599 The birds spend the winter 457 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,840 roaming the entire Atlantic 458 00:30:00,959 --> 00:30:02,759 until spring draws them back 459 00:30:02,879 --> 00:30:04,799 to this cathedral in the ocean. 460 00:30:10,919 --> 00:30:12,879 (COOING) 461 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:20,400 1,500 years ago, 462 00:30:20,519 --> 00:30:23,199 a group of monks set sail from mainland Ireland. 463 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:26,440 Their mission was to build a monastery 464 00:30:26,559 --> 00:30:28,439 on the very edge of the world. 465 00:30:28,559 --> 00:30:31,759 On the most extreme place in all of Christendom. 466 00:30:35,879 --> 00:30:37,839 (GENTLE MELODY PLAYING ON GUITAR) 467 00:30:38,639 --> 00:30:40,599 They chose Skellig Michael. 468 00:30:41,879 --> 00:30:43,399 ♪ 469 00:30:54,279 --> 00:30:56,359 Over hundreds of years, 470 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:59,440 the monks built their staircases to the sky. 471 00:31:04,239 --> 00:31:07,599 It strikes you as you first begin to climb the steps, 472 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,200 the amount of time that was put into them - 473 00:31:10,319 --> 00:31:12,079 from chiselling out individual steps 474 00:31:12,199 --> 00:31:14,319 into the bare rock, to physically moving 475 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,000 every single stone, one by one. 476 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:20,720 (CAWING) 477 00:31:21,919 --> 00:31:24,279 Over 600 steps lead up 478 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:28,120 to one of the most magical ancient sites on Planet Earth. 479 00:31:30,519 --> 00:31:32,079 ♪ 480 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,280 Skellig's early Christian monastery. 481 00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:43,679 The monks lived in these dry stone cells 482 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:45,600 and had a number of tiny chapels 483 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:47,840 for ceremonies and prayer. 484 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,440 Most still intact 485 00:31:52,559 --> 00:31:55,519 after more than a thousand years on this isolated pinnacle. 486 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,000 And when the monks came here, 487 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,200 they gave complete dedication of their lives. 488 00:32:05,319 --> 00:32:07,639 Their life's work was to purify themselves, 489 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,080 to ready themselves for the next world. 490 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,360 For these monks, they were looking to 491 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,800 build a monastery in the clouds, in the sky, 492 00:32:15,919 --> 00:32:18,239 as close as they possibly could get to God. 493 00:32:28,599 --> 00:32:30,879 Until very recently, until 600 years ago, 494 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,800 we believed the world was flat 495 00:32:32,919 --> 00:32:36,319 and this was the end of the known world. 496 00:32:37,599 --> 00:32:40,239 All you see is sky and sea. 497 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:44,680 But for them, they had no knowledge 498 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:46,680 of what lay beyond that. This was the frontier, 499 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,880 the very liminal part of human civilisation. 500 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:55,920 (SEA ROARING IN DISTANCE) 501 00:33:01,559 --> 00:33:04,839 You really get an appreciation of how these monks lived. 502 00:33:04,959 --> 00:33:06,879 And you can almost imagine in dark, windy, 503 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,040 cold nights like this, 504 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,400 that lovely soft glow of light... 505 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,240 .. seeping through the cracks of the cells, 506 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,240 from an oil flame, 507 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,320 as the monks worked by night. 508 00:33:22,879 --> 00:33:25,079 And things haven't changed that much 509 00:33:25,199 --> 00:33:27,639 in the last thousand years when the monks were living here. 510 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,600 The same sounds of water, and of wind. 511 00:33:32,959 --> 00:33:34,879 (LOW GUTTERAL COOING) 512 00:33:35,599 --> 00:33:37,799 And there's one other sound. 513 00:33:37,919 --> 00:33:39,759 And as the night matures and grows darker, 514 00:33:39,879 --> 00:33:41,639 the sound gets stronger 515 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:43,520 and it's an unworldly sound. 516 00:33:43,639 --> 00:33:45,519 I can only imagine what the monks 517 00:33:45,639 --> 00:33:47,839 must have thought when they heard it first. 518 00:33:48,919 --> 00:33:50,959 (PERSISTENT, RAPID BIRD CALLING) 519 00:33:53,839 --> 00:33:57,079 Legend had it that the calls were dead sailors, 520 00:33:57,199 --> 00:33:59,159 returning to torment the living. 521 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,680 (CALLING HEIGHTENS) 522 00:34:05,519 --> 00:34:07,679 But these are the calls of a creature 523 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,000 that has travelled from the Antarctic ocean and Brazil, 524 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,360 to rear their young on Skellig Michael. 525 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,080 The Manx Shearwater. 526 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:23,440 Supreme flyers, 527 00:34:23,559 --> 00:34:25,919 shearwaters are hopeless on land. 528 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,200 And easy prey for the giant gulls 529 00:34:29,319 --> 00:34:31,399 that patrol the island by day. 530 00:34:35,519 --> 00:34:38,639 So this male has picked the very darkest night 531 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:40,560 to return to the nest. 532 00:34:44,519 --> 00:34:46,159 Somewhere in the monastery, 533 00:34:46,279 --> 00:34:48,399 his mate and chick are patiently waiting for him. 534 00:34:52,839 --> 00:34:54,799 They call to each other in the darkness 535 00:34:54,919 --> 00:34:56,919 to help guide him home. 536 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:00,720 (SING-SONG SQUAWKING) 537 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,320 (TRILLING CALL) 538 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:10,520 For days, even weeks, 539 00:35:10,639 --> 00:35:12,439 they've been waiting for him to return 540 00:35:12,559 --> 00:35:14,919 with a belly full of fish for the chick. 541 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:22,200 (LOUD SQUAWKING) 542 00:35:24,839 --> 00:35:27,599 And she is just delighted to see him. 543 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:31,040 ♪ 544 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,440 Shearwater's pair for life 545 00:35:39,559 --> 00:35:41,479 and the parents' powerful bond, 546 00:35:41,599 --> 00:35:43,959 brings them back year after year 547 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,360 to raise a single chick on Skellig. 548 00:35:51,559 --> 00:35:53,279 (SQUEAKING) 549 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,520 These are very demanding youngsters, 550 00:35:57,639 --> 00:35:59,559 requiring up to 70 days care 551 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,920 before they can survive on their own. 552 00:36:03,319 --> 00:36:04,839 (WHISTLING CALL) 553 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,360 It's now Dad's turn to babysit. 554 00:36:14,839 --> 00:36:16,879 Mum is starving. 555 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:21,720 She must head to sea before the gulls come hunting 556 00:36:21,839 --> 00:36:23,759 in the first light of dawn. 557 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:38,360 Because of the lack of lights out in these islands, 558 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,320 there's a depth of darkness 559 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:42,960 that you just don't get in the mainland anymore. 560 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,640 And that depth of darkness really reveals the night sky. 561 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:54,720 That's one thing that we're really losing 562 00:36:54,839 --> 00:36:57,279 with the rollout of strong LED lights. 563 00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,440 We're losing the connection with the sky. 564 00:36:59,559 --> 00:37:02,159 We're losing with connection... with darkness in general. 565 00:37:04,919 --> 00:37:06,519 (LULLABY-LIKE MUSIC) 566 00:37:41,519 --> 00:37:43,119 When you're sailing 567 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:44,879 you tend to feel the wind in the sails 568 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,440 before you actually feel the wind on your face. 569 00:37:47,559 --> 00:37:49,399 And you just get that squeak of the ropes 570 00:37:49,519 --> 00:37:51,279 as everything tightens. 571 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:54,160 And you are sailing... 572 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:57,480 .. and saying goodbye to Sceilg Mhichíl. 573 00:38:00,639 --> 00:38:02,319 (GANNETS CALLING) 574 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:08,360 I'm now heading 575 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,560 into a very familiar part of the world. 576 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,160 My home county, Cork. 577 00:38:24,879 --> 00:38:28,719 This is the closest part of this country to my heart, 578 00:38:28,839 --> 00:38:31,959 this is Bantry Bay. This is where I grew up. 579 00:38:36,959 --> 00:38:40,839 This bay was also where I grew to love the natural world. 580 00:38:40,959 --> 00:38:43,679 I remember the excitement of anything new, 581 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:45,840 anything unusual, 582 00:38:45,959 --> 00:38:48,399 from strange ducks to stray dolphins. 583 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:54,720 But recently Bantry has become home 584 00:38:54,839 --> 00:38:56,879 to something very special indeed. 585 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:58,960 ♪ 586 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:06,760 The largest aerial predator 587 00:39:06,879 --> 00:39:09,239 to hunt in these skies since the Ice Age. 588 00:39:12,879 --> 00:39:14,679 White Tailed Eagles. 589 00:39:18,519 --> 00:39:20,239 (SPLASHING) 590 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:26,520 For the last 100 years, there were none, 591 00:39:26,639 --> 00:39:29,439 they had been persecuted to extinction. 592 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:33,160 But in recent decades, a wonderful initiative 593 00:39:33,279 --> 00:39:35,239 has brought these magnificent birds 594 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,520 back to Irish skies. 595 00:39:37,639 --> 00:39:41,439 Almost 150 chicks were gifted by Norway, 596 00:39:41,559 --> 00:39:44,479 and slowly but surely, they're settling in. 597 00:39:48,319 --> 00:39:50,999 Critical to their success is breeding - 598 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,200 the new arrivals raising families of their own. 599 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,120 Garnish Island is tucked away 600 00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:05,279 at the head of Bantry Bay. 601 00:40:08,639 --> 00:40:11,799 And here is a remarkable symbol of hope - 602 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:16,560 a nest with some of the first sea eagles 603 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,760 to be born in Ireland in more than a century. 604 00:40:25,879 --> 00:40:27,839 You can see the haze, the heat haze 605 00:40:27,959 --> 00:40:31,919 and there they sit and wait for their parents to visit. 606 00:40:33,559 --> 00:40:35,359 (SPLASHING) 607 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:44,400 And this male is the first bird 608 00:40:44,519 --> 00:40:47,239 to sire Irish-born sea eagles 609 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,760 in this country in over 100 years. 610 00:40:49,879 --> 00:40:52,079 He was born in Ireland and now he's siring 611 00:40:52,199 --> 00:40:54,719 the next generation, and that is really special. 612 00:41:00,639 --> 00:41:03,199 But when you see how well this has worked, 613 00:41:03,319 --> 00:41:05,439 you begin to imagine as to the other animals 614 00:41:05,559 --> 00:41:08,599 that were wiped from this stunning landscape 615 00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:11,000 and how the skies could look again, 616 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:13,240 how the woods could feel again 617 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:15,440 if we bring them back. 618 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,760 Bantry Bay is where I became an adult, 619 00:41:32,879 --> 00:41:35,159 and it's here I learned how to sail. 620 00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:38,119 My early childhood we'd spend a lot of time 621 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:40,239 going to the various islands within the bay 622 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,120 in my Dad's boat. 623 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,280 Dad was obsessed with boats generally, 624 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,160 but above all he loved these boats, 625 00:41:50,279 --> 00:41:52,239 Galway Hookers. 626 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,360 My father worked at sea for years, 627 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,520 and that's all he ever wanted to do. 628 00:42:00,639 --> 00:42:02,519 He was... half-married to it, I guess. 629 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:11,520 When a new oil terminal was built on the island ahead of me, 630 00:42:11,639 --> 00:42:13,759 Dad got a job there as a ship's pilot, 631 00:42:13,879 --> 00:42:16,879 guiding the tankers in to offload their oil at the jetty. 632 00:42:18,199 --> 00:42:19,999 It was perfect. 633 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:21,920 He could spend his days at sea, 634 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:23,800 and still be home for dinner. 635 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:28,440 But one night, everything changed. 636 00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:35,240 Unfortunately, in 1979, 637 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,440 just off Whiddy Island in front of me, 638 00:42:37,559 --> 00:42:41,239 the Betelgeuse oil tanker broke its back and exploded, 639 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:44,600 killing all 50 people on board, including my father. 640 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:52,560 So many things went wrong that shouldn't have gone wrong, 641 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,240 especially when you see the old jetty, 642 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,720 twisted and rusted, and half-melted 643 00:42:58,839 --> 00:43:01,639 from the heat of what happened that night. 644 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:06,040 And it was an awful way... 645 00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:10,360 .. to lose your life, between drowning and fire. 646 00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:13,720 (GENTLE MELODY ON GUITAR) 647 00:43:17,879 --> 00:43:22,239 The scar both physically and emotionally is still there. 648 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,400 (EMOTIONAL) And even now, sailing towards it... 649 00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:32,680 (COMPOSED) It's not easy. 650 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:39,320 (FEMALE VOICE SINGING IRISH MELODY) 651 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,000 ♪ Faoiseamh a gheobhadsa 652 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,720 ♪ Seal beag gairid 653 00:43:46,599 --> 00:43:49,359 ♪ I measc mo dhaoine 654 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:51,840 When your father dies at such a young age, 655 00:43:51,959 --> 00:43:54,599 you're robbed of so much. 656 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:56,560 Like, I would've loved for him to have shown me 657 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:58,400 how to sail a boat like this. 658 00:43:58,519 --> 00:44:01,399 ♪ Maidin is trathnona 659 00:44:01,519 --> 00:44:05,279 ♪ O Luan go Satharn 660 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,520 But you know, when someone goes, 661 00:44:09,639 --> 00:44:12,799 I believe that part of them lives on through you 662 00:44:12,919 --> 00:44:14,759 and certainly for myself and my brothers, 663 00:44:14,879 --> 00:44:17,479 the love of the sea - 664 00:44:17,599 --> 00:44:19,599 being on it, sailing on it, 665 00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:22,160 swimming and diving underneath the surface of it, 666 00:44:22,279 --> 00:44:24,559 it is so strong in us all. 667 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:27,200 (SINGING RESUMES) 668 00:44:27,319 --> 00:44:29,479 ♪ Faoiseamh a gheobhadsa 669 00:44:29,599 --> 00:44:32,119 ♪ Seal beag gairid 670 00:44:33,919 --> 00:44:36,239 ♪ I measc mo dhaoine 671 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:40,880 ♪ O chra chroi 672 00:44:41,879 --> 00:44:44,319 ♪ O bhfuar d'aigne 673 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:49,560 ♪ O uaigneas duairc 674 00:44:53,839 --> 00:44:56,039 Fastnet Rock, 675 00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:58,840 the southernmost point of Ireland 676 00:44:58,959 --> 00:45:01,959 with a beautiful lighthouse sitting on top. 677 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,280 Its name in Irish is very descriptive - 678 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,440 it's Carraig Aonair, the Lone Rock. 679 00:45:11,559 --> 00:45:13,399 And it carries a huge significance 680 00:45:13,519 --> 00:45:15,999 to a lot of the emigrants that left these shores 681 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,280 in the 19th century, fleeing the Famine. 682 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:21,000 Because this was the last sight they saw 683 00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:23,400 before hitting the New World. 684 00:45:37,599 --> 00:45:39,959 These Atlantic stretches off County Cork 685 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:43,240 feel the most exposed of all Irish waters to me. 686 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:47,720 Due west and the first stop is Canada, 687 00:45:47,839 --> 00:45:50,079 due south, Africa. 688 00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:55,680 Year round, 689 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:58,000 the Gulf Stream brings warm water from the Caribbean, 690 00:45:58,120 --> 00:46:00,160 blessing Ireland with mild winters 691 00:46:00,279 --> 00:46:02,119 and buckets of rain. 692 00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:04,159 (SPLASHING) 693 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:09,640 The Gulf Stream also brings life. 694 00:46:13,319 --> 00:46:15,159 (TINKLING PIANO MUSIC) 695 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,480 One of the most beautiful fish in the sea. 696 00:46:24,599 --> 00:46:27,079 It's like all of the ocean's colours 697 00:46:27,199 --> 00:46:29,399 have been distilled into one animal. 698 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:34,720 Blue shark are among 699 00:46:34,839 --> 00:46:36,919 the greatest ocean wanderers. 700 00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,440 Found all over the planet, 701 00:46:39,559 --> 00:46:42,079 they follow their prey, herring, mackerel and squid, 702 00:46:42,199 --> 00:46:44,399 wherever it takes them. 703 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,800 Apex predators, at the top of the food chain, 704 00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:54,160 they are curious creatures and show no fear. 705 00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,360 I wish they were more fearful. 706 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:04,560 For they are the most heavily fished sharks on the planet, 707 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,080 hunted for their meat and the insane demand 708 00:47:07,199 --> 00:47:09,559 for shark fin soup. 709 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,000 Fate and an ocean current 710 00:47:16,120 --> 00:47:18,640 brought them to these seas off County Cork. 711 00:47:21,879 --> 00:47:23,879 A journey not unlike my own. 712 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:28,360 Both of us in search of a rich, clean ocean, 713 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:32,440 where the creatures of the wild still swim free. 714 00:47:32,559 --> 00:47:34,239 (ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC BUILDING) 715 00:47:46,720 --> 00:47:48,440 (MUSIC CONTINUES) 716 00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:52,920 This journey, I've been looking forward to for so long, 717 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:55,520 and now I know because I'm rounding the Fastnet, 718 00:47:55,639 --> 00:47:57,679 that it's coming to an end. 719 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:02,160 From the northernmost point of this island 720 00:48:02,279 --> 00:48:03,959 up in Inishtrahull, 721 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:06,240 down to the Fastnet, the southernmost point. 722 00:48:07,519 --> 00:48:09,879 But like any journey, it's more than going from A to B. 723 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,240 (MUSIC BURSTS) 724 00:48:17,319 --> 00:48:20,399 On this journey, I was hoping to find places 725 00:48:20,519 --> 00:48:23,359 where Ireland's wild creatures still flourish. 726 00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:24,800 (SQUAWKING) 727 00:48:24,919 --> 00:48:28,199 To find echoes of our once wonderful wild world. 728 00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:43,560 I feel elated, tired... 729 00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:48,360 .. so privileged to have been able to see what I've seen. 730 00:48:49,199 --> 00:48:52,119 This journey has been about getting a small glimpse 731 00:48:52,239 --> 00:48:55,319 into the lives of the animals that make 732 00:48:55,440 --> 00:48:57,600 the most extreme edge of this island their home. 733 00:49:01,279 --> 00:49:03,439 Remarkable creatures 734 00:49:03,559 --> 00:49:06,839 who have survived centuries of hunting and harassment, 735 00:49:06,959 --> 00:49:09,719 but still cling to life in the vast sea of uncertainty, 736 00:49:09,839 --> 00:49:12,399 that we humans have created. 737 00:49:12,519 --> 00:49:14,319 Long may they live, 738 00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:16,920 out here on the edge of the world - 739 00:49:18,319 --> 00:49:20,639 on Ireland's Wild Islands.