TG4′S TWO-PART documentary Éire Fhiáin concluded last night, with Eoin Warner taking us on a breathtaking journey from the Connemara islands all the way up to Malin Head in Donegal.
Like the first episode last week, the slow motion camera work of animals in the wild was simply stunning throughout:
And the shots of the landscape were similarly spectacular:
Éire Fhiáin translates as Wild Ireland – and the hour-long programme lived up to the billing.
Eoin was in typically poetic form early on as he described the rugged landscape as our narrator:
As I head into Mayo, I know that every step of my journey will depend on the ever-changing West of Ireland weather. That’s the thing about this coast – it’s harsh and wild. Even when man flees, the birds and the animals must face it. You only need to watch a seagull flying during a storm. They have such mastery of flight.
The combination of wildlife and scenery was lovely – like watching these whooper swans landing on the water in Mayo
People at home were impressed
Eoin navigated the choppy waters in his trusty kayak:
“I always feel at ease on the sea”
There were close-ups of these little pine martins
And they’re “reclaiming their old haunts” in forests on the west coast and beyond
Eoin’s trek continued:
“My coastal journey mirrors the ebb and flow of the tide itself. I am coming and going with the seasons, trying to follow the animals’ journeys”
From the song of the skylark to the bats in an old church at night, the sheer wealth of the wildlife on the west coast was great:
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A “triumph”:
Lesley Ann / Twitter
Lesley Ann / Twitter / Twitter
There were “river vampires” mating under the water
And shot after shot of the water landscape out west
A highlight was the golden eagle soaring in slow motion across the Donegal sky at the end of his journey
It was some way to conclude Éire Fhiáin
The production levels made it a joy to watch
And you can check both parts out here
The view off Malin Head – a perfect way to wrap it up.
