
Mooney Goes Wild
Irish Talk
Derek Mooney and guests explore the natural world in all its forms. Listen live every Monday at 10pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
Location:
United States
Description:
Derek Mooney and guests explore the natural world in all its forms. Listen live every Monday at 10pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
Language:
English
Episodes
Driven nuts by a crow
10/27/2025
Our good friend Collie Ennis, Biodiversity Officer with Trinity College Dublin, was in touch recently to inform us of something unusual...a walnut struck him on the head! Rather than fall from a tree, the walnut had apparently been dropped by a Hooded Crow. Terry Flanagan went to investigate.
Duration:00:13:04
Night Kayaking in Cork
10/27/2025
Proud Corkonian Jim Wilson is a man who feels very much at home on the open waves. Back in July, Jim travelled to Castlehaven Harbour to go night kayaking with Naoise and Jim Kennedy from Atlantic Sea Kayaking. He recorded a truly captivating report for tonight’s programme.
Duration:00:28:00
BirdWatch Ireland’s Irish Garden Bird Survey
10/27/2025
Of all of the ornithological surveys carried out by conservation charity BirdWatch Ireland, its annual Irish Garden Bird Survey is far and away the most popular. This winter’s survey season – its 37th – will kick off on Monday 1st December and will run until the end of February 2026.
Duration:00:07:55
Looking back at Eric Dempsey’s documentary about a very special bird: the Ring Ouzel
10/27/2025
Earlier today, a very special documentary was broadcast on RTÉ Radio One as part of our Nature on One series. Presented by Eric Dempsey, its subject was one of Ireland’s most critically endangered breeding bird species: the Ring Ouzel, a close relative of the much more familiar Blackbird.
Duration:00:02:35
Mary’s Mizen Weather
10/20/2025
Michele Browne went to Mizen Head to meet Mary McCarthy (and her father Paddy) to talk about how fishermen of old would look to nature for signs of the weather. Mary reads these signs so well now, that people contact her for short term forecasts. You can hear a longer version of Michele's report on the website.
Duration:00:05:26
Creating roosting islands at Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve
10/20/2025
BirdWatch Ireland's Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve in Cork has just added dedicated roosting islands for the wetland birds to sleep and shelter. Ornithologist Jim Wilson joins the programme to explain the additions.
Duration:00:04:16
The Hare's Corner
10/20/2025
2025 marks the 5th anniversary of The Hare’s Corner, a Burrenbeo Trust initative that helps landowners create space for nature through new habitats. Terry Flanagan went to Staffordstown in Meath to meet farmers Michael and Penelope Monaghan, Hare’s Corner advisor Donna Mullen, and Michael’s mum Walburga, who tunes in to us weekly at the age of 107!
Duration:00:12:07
A robin with a crooked beak and crows on the beach at Lissadell
10/20/2025
Listener Robert Brown sent us a photo of a robin with a crooked beak and we finally get through to Elizabeth Carney, who has questions about groups of crows on a beach and sandhoppers.
Duration:00:13:36
Slender-billed Curlew declared extinct and previewing 'The Ring Ouzel'
10/20/2025
Very sadly, a migratory species of wading bird called the Slender-billed Curlew has formally been declared globally extinct by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International. Eric Dempsey talks about the lost bird and previews his upcoming documentary on The Ring Ouzel.
Duration:00:15:16
Ring Ring
10/20/2025
Tonight’s programme opens with Derek rifling through the entire back catalogue of Swedish pop sensation ABBA for one of their earliest songs - Ring Ring. They make a surprise call to listener Elizabeth Carney in Sligo but only get her answering machine!
Duration:00:03:49
Mary's Mizen Weather
10/13/2025
Michele Browne went to Mizen Head to meet Mary McCarthy (and her father Paddy) to talk about how fishermen of old would look to nature for signs of the weather. Mary reads these signs so well now, that people contact her for short term forecasts. To meet the demand, she has set up Mary's Mizen Weather on Facebook.
Duration:00:16:56
The Glossy Ibis
10/13/2025
Listener Martin Murray from Waterford sent us in some lovely photos of a Glossy Ibis feeding. Ornithologist Eric Dempsey explains this interesting bird.
Duration:00:11:33
An Áit a nÉitlíonn na Madaí Crainn
10/13/2025
Éanna is taken with a new Irish version of 'Where the Tree Dogs Fly', an illustrated picturebook by Aileen Crossley. The author talks to Éanna about the new edition, An Áit a nÉitlíonn na Madaí Crainn, which is a 'love letter from mother nature to a troubled child'.
Duration:00:08:17
Birds at the Edward Worth Library
10/13/2025
The Edward Worth Library is a rare books collection, bequeathed to Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin, by Dr Edward Worth. It recently launched a web exhibition 'Birds at the Edward Worth Library' and Éanna Ní Lamhna was the speaker. Terry Flanagan went along to see this hidden treasure.
Duration:00:12:33
The Secret Lives of Owls in Ireland
10/13/2025
Though rarely seen, owls play a quiet but vital role in Ireland's ecosystem. The next featured talk in Killarney National Park's 'Autumn Talks Series 2025' will be 'The Secret Lives of Owls in Ireland'. Alan McCarthy, Barn Owl Project Officer with Birdwatch Ireland, will give the talk.
Duration:00:18:25
Killarney National Park Autumn Talks Series 2025
10/6/2025
This year marks the 37th year of the annual Killarney National Park ‘Autumn Talks Series’, which is set to return this Thursday (October 9th). We speak to long-standing organiser of the annual series of talks, Pádruig O’Sullivan, Conservation Ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Duration:00:05:02
Seed-collecting with Jeremy Turkington
10/6/2025
Each year, Jeremy Turkington and his colleagues at Hometree collect seeds from native Irish plant species in order to propagate them and ensure their future and genetic diversity in Ireland. For tonight’s programme, our researcher Michele Browne met him to find out more.
Duration:00:04:09
The “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” is upon us
10/6/2025
The 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,' as John Keats put it, is well and truly with us. Have you noticed the vast amounts of fruits, seeds and berries around this year? That’s because it’s a mast year. Terry Flanagan went to meet Dr. Matthew Jebb, Director of the gardens at the National Botanic Gardens, to find out all about mast years.
Duration:00:12:28
Celebrating National Tree Day
10/6/2025
Last Thursday (October 2nd) was National Tree Day, a special day organised every year by the Tree Council of Ireland for primary school pupils (and the rest of us) to discover how amazing trees are. Éanna is a former President of the Tree Council of Ireland and she tells us more about this year’s celebrations.
Duration:00:03:39
Éanna’s Wild Dublin book: second edition out now
10/6/2025
Dublin city hosts a secret world of wildlife. When Éanna Ní Lamhna’s 'Wild Dublin: Exploring Nature in the City' was first published in 2009, it explored the surprising natural riches of our capital. Much has changed in 16 years and Éanna has now updated the book to reflect the new species, flora and fauna in the city.
Duration:00:25:16