Sea Stories

A Real Ireland postcard from the 1980s features a woman with a seagull perched on top of her head! To the visitors who sent this card to places all over the world this woman was known as ‘The Bird Lady of Bray’. However, to the people of Bray and the listeners to East Coast FM, she was simply, ‘Aunty’ Ethel, a much-loved and slightly eccentric character, fond of ‘a drop of the cratur’ and who occasionally cropped up on air to share her amusing stories. Following Ethel’s death in 2015, social...

One Mile Long - Bray Seafront Remembered (Episode 2). In this final episode we hear about the fall of the lighthouse during a storm; the passenger, rowing and peddle boats for hire. A couple who've returned from Israel for a visit - their first since their honeymoon. We find out about the chair lifts to the Eagles Nest and the reasons why Bray as a resort declined in the 1970s. This programme was made in 2008 - the start of the fall of the 'Celtic Tiger' and a protracted decade of recession...

One Mile Long - Bray Seafront Remembered. Revisiting the post-war halcyon days of Bray’s seafront; a time when thousands of Irish and British holiday-makers along with Dublin day-drippers strolled the Promenade and thronged its once sandy beaches. Stories from those who came, those who worked and those who grew up there. Time was when visitors who had just arrived on spec and late at night had to sleep in one of the town's three cinemas which were kept open overnight to cope with the influx....

Reflections and Experiences: It's one year on and on a windswept veranda overlooking Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Sea Stories presenter John Murphy catches up with fellow crew Athena II crew members to see how the experience of doing the ARC has enriched or changed their lives in any way. Find out move about Sea Stories: www.seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Storie…23714297?fref=ts TuneIn Radio: tunein.com/radio/Sea-Stories-p744021/...

Alan Corr recounts his professional career at sea and discusses the challenges of life away from family. Alan is the manager of the newly constructed Greystones Marina and highlights some of the plans for this award-winning harbour.

We drop in to the Bray Heritage Centre - once the former Bray Court House - to catch up with the esteemed Frank deGroot and a team of volunteers building a replica of the once popular Droleen, a small sailing boat with a lifting keel - ideal for coming up onto the beach - a craft especially common to Bray seafront at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. Find out move about Sea Stories: www.seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find us on Facebook:...

Arklow Native and retired sea captain Danny O'Neill is one of Wicklow's most illustrious sea farers. He is also curator of the spacious and bright Arklow Maritime Museum. In this programme, Danny talks about life at sea and he gives us a personal tour of the museum which has an abundance of artefacts, documents and photographs - each with an interesting story to tell. Find out move about Sea Stories: www.seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find us on Facebook:...

Smitten by the Sea at Fifty: A chance encounter led Myles Kelly to take up sailing with gusto at the age of fifty. Since then, Myles has achieved a great deal and has crossed the Atlantic on no less than two occasions. On a beautiful summer's evening cruising on Dublin Bay, Myles tells us about that first encounter and what the sea means to him. Find out move about Sea Stories: www.seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find us on Facebook:...

Paul Cunningham operates Marine Electrics a successful Dublin-based company looking after the power and electronics needs of the boating and saying community. Paul discusses the uses of power and communications in a modern day boat. He also talks about the mid-life crisis that perhaps led him to the decision to combine his love of the sea and his specialised skills. Find out move about Sea Stories: www.seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find us on Facebook:...

Remembering and Restoring the Dublin Ferry No.11: Dubliner Richie Saunders visited many parts of the world when he worked on Irish Shipping. Later he worked on the pilot boats at Dublin Port. Upon retiring he spotted one of the old Dublin Ferries lying up and rusting away. It was a boat he once skippered with pride. Over four years he undertook the restoration of Dublin Ferry No11. In the programme he recalls how it was once located at the site of the now East Link Bridge and how it used to...

RNLI - Personal Life Lessons and Remembering the Ultimate Cost: In this programme we pay a visit to an Open Day at the Dún Laoghaire RNLI and we feature Mark McGibney, one of the youngest RNLI coxswains. Mark recounts some of the 'shouts' from the less serious to the one that has most deeply affected him and caused him to pause and think about his own life. We also hear from Stephen Wynn, Dún Laoghaire's RNLI Operations Manager about the greatest loss of life to a lifeboat crew which...

It's the start of the season and we take an afternoon trip aboard the St Bridget with vessel owner Eugene Garrity and skipper Eddie Keane. Eugene discusses the many challenges to setting up and running a successful business involving the sea. We cruise down the Liffey under a raised East Link Bridge - a project that first brought Eugene to Dublin during its construction and where he once drove a tugboat. We head out the mouth of the Liffey, and into Dublin Bay and finally south to our...

Teamwork - Crossing the Atlantic by Sail: A crew of Irish sailors and a Welsh skipper set sail from the Canany Islands to Cape Verde to cross the Atlantic Ocean by taking part in the ARC- the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This is the story of that journey.

The Seven Year Adventure: Dublin couple Emer Brady and John Heron set out on voyage aboard their cursing yacht Pala. It was planned to take three months. They circumnavigated the globe and more! After seven years at sea, they returned home to find Ireland had changed and the Celtic Tiger was at large. What was their motivation behind the voyage? What does it take? And how had they changed after seven years away? Find out move about Sea Stories: seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter:...

Building Confidence, Learnings for Life: Captain Frank Traynor and presenter John learnt to sail together -that was over 40 years ago! On this leisurely cruise, Frank talks passionately about the importance of early sail training and confidence building exercises aboard The Asgard. It was such one spark that ignited Frank's love of boats and the sea. The programme discusses the team spirit one encounters at sea and how time moves to a more natural rhythm when you’re out on the high seas....

Delivery by the Stars: David Jerrard is Ireland's foremost teacher of sailing and navigation courses. He's also a master boat builder and yacht instructor. David joined us for a cruise on a glorious sunny day and told us how he first got into boats, about using a sextant and how Hurricane Charlie arrived - just one day after he launched his boat; a project which had taken David twelve years to complete. Find out move about Sea Stories: seastories.ie Follow us on Twitter: @SeaStoriesIRL Find...

Welcome to a brand new radio documentary series, Sea Stories - Lives touched by the Sea coming on East Coast FM and here on SoundCloud. In this full-length promo, John Murphy the presenter of Sea Stories will highlight some clips from programmes and will discuss his own experience and background. This series is for everyone - for those who take to the sea or those who have never been on a boat! Our 13-part series will air in 2014 and 2015 on County Wicklow's East Coast FM and all the...