Seascapes

On Seascapes tonight, Noel Sweeney meets fishermen Richard Brannigan & Alan Fanning on Howth Pier to speak about fishing, quotas & Brexit. Fergal Keane has been to the Irish Speciman Fish Awards where he met anglers receiving awards for record fish. And Captain Brendan Forde, who spent fifty years at sea, starting in 1947, tells about his favourite ship, the Dahomey Palm & his trip to Africa.

Lt Tristan Balcombe of the Royal Navy's HMS Protector, who first sighted the Ballycotton ghost ship drifting in the Atlantic six months ago. The MV Alta was abandoned by her crew 1,600 kilometres SE of Bermuda in September 2018. She then drifted 6,500 kilometres before landing on rocks on the south coast last weekend. Lt Balcombe found her in September 2019 while on a voyage to Antartica. The Protector is an ice breaker in the Royal Navy. We hear about an initiative from Inland Fisheries to get more women involved in angling. And we visit the Ireland Angling Expo where we meet charter angling skippers from Donegal who have been catching & tagging Tuna.

Retired sea captain, Brendan Forde spent 50 years at sea working for Irish Shipping & other lines, now aged 88, he lives in Raheny in Dublin. In his first story tonight he remembers witnessing an atomic explosion from the deck of an Irish Shipping vessel in the Pacific Ocean. Jim O'Toole is the Chief Executive of BIM, which hosted a seminar in Carlingford, Co. Louth, for Ireland's oyster producers. Jim speaks about the oyster sector & about the Irish seafood sector. Our regular contributor Hugh Oram has been looking at Ireland's most historically significant river, the Boyne.

Seascapes meets Philip Marsden author of The Summer Isles, an account of his single-handed voyage from the south coast of England round the west of Ireland & on to the northwest of Scotland in a small wooden sailing boat. Plus the Ireland Angling Show 2020 will be held at National Show Centre, Swords starting on 15th February, a 2 day event organised by Mara Media.

Tonight on Seascapes, we hear from Barrie Deas, the Chief Executive of Britian's National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. Barrie gives the perspective of British fishermen on what they expect from Brexit & any fisheries deal which might be done with the EU. Some 30% of all fish caught by Irish trawlers come from British waters. Lorna Siggins looks at the political party's election manifestos & what they have to say on the marine sector. Author & historian Cal McCarthy is interviewed about his new book Cork Harbour. Published by Merrion Press the book recounts the military & commercial history of the harbour from the early 1700s & is available from all good bookshops.

Courts reporter Tom Tuite reports on a Dublin District Court case in which two men were found guilty of offences for disrupting shipping in Dublin Port. One said it was his "god given right as a Dubliner" to sail up & down the Liffey. Noel Sweeney speaks to fishermen Shane McEntyre & David Tobin about their lives & the fishing industry. Plus Hugh Oram recounts the history of the seaside town of Bray, designed to resemble Brighton.

On Seascapes tonight we have a report from Joanna McNicholas on harvesting sea salt on Achill Island with the Achill Island Sea Salt Company. And Corkman Gerald O'Flynn offers advice & guidence for holidays on Ireland's inland waterways.

Tonight we hear from women who are recent graudates of the country's only third Level course in aqua business. Also the final part of Timmy Flavin's account of his round Ireland trip by kayak.

Celebrating 30 years of Seascapes, a look back at the archives of some of the early days of the programme on Radio 1.

Seascapes very first programme was in the summer of 1989 & this year we are celebrating our 30th year on air. Tonight we take the opportunity to look back into the archives to remember some of the events and contributors to the programme over the years. Highlights include Hugh Oram, on 30 years of Seascapes, master boat builder Joe Murphy from 1991 on his boatyard in Ringsend & Dublin's diving bell, lighthouse keeper, Gerald Butler & meeting sqummer Mark Spitz on the Skelligs in 1972 & on the Fastnet disaster, when he was on duty on the rock that night. Plus Daphne Pochin Mould, pilot & adventurer on her trip to the island of St Columcille.